There’s a part of me that wants to just post adorable and artistically composed photos, but that would only tell half the story of these burrowing owls and might leave the reader overly impressed with my bird-finding skills.

: )

The truth is that I had a map and the birds were very easy to find on the city streets and neighborhoods of Cape Coral, Florida.

Known-to-be-active burrows were clearly marked and had a t-shaped perch in place for the owls.

Actually seeing the owls was a challenge, but only until we’d come up with something like a search image in our minds. We drove around this neighborhood near the library a couple times without seeing any, but then once we spotted one owl at the entrance to its burrow, others suddenly became visible.

We found this pair out enjoying the sunshine on a very busy street only because of a man standing on the sidewalk staring intently at them from a couple feet away. He told me he checks in with the pairs that live on his daily walking route. They didn’t seem the least bit bothered, but I snapped just a couple pix and was back in the car.

If you’re in the neighborhood, Cape Coral and its Burrowing Owls are worth a visit. They’re so very tolerant that I found it a little too easy to get overly close… keep that in mind, especially, if you visit during nesting season.