This amazing little owl frequents high, sandy prairies and pastures with very little vegetation. Due to development, the majority of Florida’s Burrowing Owls have had to adapt to living in urban habitats created by humans, such as golf courses, ball fields, residential lawns and other expanses of cleared land. They are a very social species and families will live quite happily in close proximity. They are the only species of owl in the world that nests underground, occupying burrows, up to 8 feet in length, that have been dug out by a Gopher Tortoise. The owls will line the entrance and approach to their burrow with detritus to attract beetles, which they feed upon. In Southeast Florida, Burrowing Owls are under threat from an exotic reptile, the Black Spiny-tailed Iguana, which is taking over the owls’ burrows.
