Burrowing Owl Festival set for Feb. 24
The Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife will hold its annual festival in time for the beginning of the burrowing owl nesting season.
The 16th annual Burrowing Owl Festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24, at Rotary Park Environmental Center, 5505 Rose Garden Road.
Entrance is a $5 donation per person for those 16 years old and older.
Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife Vice President Pascha Donaldson said the community should come out to the festival so they can learn about what Cape Coral and Southwest Florida has to offer, in terms of its “gems” of the environment.
“It is important that people respect the environment, green space and have that luxury of looking up and seeing an eagle in the sky,” she said. “Our burrowing owls are special. We have the largest population east of the Mississippi. This population can really make, or break if the burrowing owl survives in the state. I think the most important thing is people move to Cape Coral for a reason. Not because of shopping centers, but the greenspace, solitude and the environment around them.”
The festival, which is for all ages, will begin with Paige, a bald eagle whose home is now at the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey, opening the ceremony, as well as singing of the Star Spangled Banner.
Other activities include an art contest and tours of the Butterfly House where people can do hands-on touching and learning about butterflies and plants necessary to keep them.
Donaldson said they will have bus tours offered at 10:30 a.m., 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. for those interested in seeing the burrowing owls.
A photographer tour will also be offered at 7:30 a.m., which requires reservations. The tour will include an experienced photographer, who will provide tips on how to capture the burrowing owls, as well as other wildlife located in Cape Coral.
The festival will also include a speakers series.
The first one, beginning at 11 a.m. will include information about reptiles and amphibians, followed by burrowing owls of Cape Coral at noon. Next, a video of the flight of butterflies and how monarch butterflies are tracked at 1 p.m.
In addition, live animals from various environmental centers will be present, and the astronomical society will have their telescopes available for people.
Food, vendors related to wildlife, nonprofit organizations, and a children’s corner featuring face painting and crafts are also among the activities.
Donaldson said author Roseanne Pawelec will have a book signing for her book “Ollie Finds a New Home” during the festival. For every book signed Pawelec will donate $1 to the Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife.
Donaldson said they will also teach people how to start a burrow in their yard.
She said the festival began after five people went to the city of Cape Coral and asked if they could stake out the burrowing owl nests because they were being damaged from building.
“We didn’t have GPS. We did a lot of driving all over the Cape,” she explained, adding that those five people decided to create the festival to raise awareness about burrowing owls. “The first owl festival there were around 300 people who attended. It’s been growing ever since.”
With improved technology, and better cooperation with the city and builders, Donaldson said people are watching out for the burrowing owls and not destroying their burrows.
“The burrows are protected,” she said. “We are seeing a little bit more responsiveness from our community.”
With constant education needed, Donaldson said the festival has grown over the years to share information with the community, not only about burrowing owls, but various environmental issues. She said now that burrowing owls are threatened it’s even more important to educate the public.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity, not only for the owls, but all wildlife,” Donaldson said, adding that such animals as manatees, bears and water quality and native plants will also be shared.
She said it’s important to share information about all the environment issues because everything depends on everything else.
The Friends group did an owl count in June 2017, which revealed approximately 3,500 burrowing owls, which included babies.
“If you talk about the survival rate of babies, it’s not very good,” Donaldson said.
She said Cape Coral has approximately 500 pairs of burrowing owls.
“This year, hopefully, we will do the same thing again to know if we are in that frame, or if it’s gone down,” Donaldson said.
Due to the large task of staking out all of the burrowing owl nests, she said they are in desperate need of volunteers with close to 3,000 burrows.
For more information, visit www.ccfriendsofwildlife.org.