** Thanks to all the great folks who attended the 9th Annual Burrowing Owl Festival.  It was a hooting success.

Mark your calendars for next year's calendar for February 25th 2012.  Same time, same place!

Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife

10th Annual

 Burrowing Owl Festival

Date: February 25th 2012

Time: 10:00 am to 4:00 pm

Where: Rotary Park in Cape Coral

Address:  5505 Rose Garden Road, Cape Coral, FL  

Admission: A $5.00 donation is suggested, children under 12 are Free

Parking: Free

Cape Coral Florida is home to Florida's largest population of the Burrowing Owl.  This whimsical bird has been established as the official City bird, and is one of the city's natural resource treasures.

Habitat destruction and natural predators have impacted these birds and Florida Fish and Wildlife has given them the status of a special of special concern.

Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife (CCFW) has been looking after these birds for nearly a decade and began holding the Burrowing Owl Festival to raise money to increase public awareness and  for maintenance of their burrows.

The festival, in its 10th year, is growing larger every year, with thousands attending the one day festival.

Highlights of the festival are lectures about the Burrowing Owl and other nature orientated topics, nature hikes to observe the varied habitats and wildlife at Rotary Park, guided bus tours*  to observe the Burrowing Owl habitats, as well as dozens of local artists showing and selling nature related arts and crafts. Guest speakers this year are Wildlife biologist Dr. Jerry Jackson, Author Charles Sobczak, photographer Dan Tudor and Lynda White of the Maitland Audubon Center, who will be giving a live Bald Eagle demonstration.

One of the highlights of the festival is the newly dedicated interactive butterfly tent exhibit.  This exhibit was dedicated to Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife member Tom Allen, who passed away in 2010 and was the driving force in getting this butterfly exhibit built and stocked. To read more about Tom Allen, [Click Here].

There will also be demonstrations on how to install a starter burrow on your property in the hopes of attracting a Burrowing Owl to your lawn.

One of the newest programs started by CCFW is the Adopt a Burrow Program.  With over 2800 owl burrows documented in the City of Cape Coral, the club is reaching out to the citizens to help keep the Burrowing Owls homes trimmed up and free of weeds.  Overgrown weeds at burrow sites often lead to causing the owls to abandon the nest, and increases the risk of being killed by predators.

Citizens with burrows in their neighborhood are encouraged to attend classes to learn the correct way to approach a burrow and trim the grass. They "adopt" these burrows and care for them throughout the year.

If you are interested in purchasing native plants to enhance your property, you can choose from a large variety of plants and reasonable prices.

Looking for something for the kids to do?  Bring them all out to the festival.  Kindness Animal Hospital's Kids Corner has lots of hands on activities for the kids. Cape Coral Police will give a K-9 demonstration and the Cape Coral Fire Department will have one of their fire trucks available for the kids to see.

Be sure and stay for lunch.  Several food vendors will be on site to serve you up some great tasting food.

Come learn about all the beautiful wildlife Cape Coral and the surrounding area has to offer.  All proceeds go towards the preservation and protection of our wildlife resources.

 *(yours truly will be one of your tour guides)