When You Least Expect It

In my recent travels to Cape Coral, Florida, making an effort to observe and document the Burrowing Owl, I found a few surprises.

The Osprey above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

I have to admit that I found myself getting lost on the roads of Cape Coral even though the majority of them traverse the city east/west and north/south.

My GPS device was useful on one occasion after I thought I had completely lost my bearings which I'll blame on the bridges from the mainland.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

Earlier than that, however, I was seemingly going to run out of daylight as I traveled west on a highway (for the second time that afternoon) that offered in a few minutes time the sighting of two bird species I had not seen before in my near three years of Florida birding.

Flyovers of birds of many different species while driving can be expected to occur regularly in such an accommodating climate as southwest Florida.

The budding wildife enthusiasts above were photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

The rarer extraordinary event is when you have a bird such as a Wood Stork pace you at eye level along your route as experienced during a trip to Bunche Beach Preserve traveling south on Summerlin Road last month.

A Cape Coral experience was especially interesting as a bird I saw heading south and very low to the ground seemed to be in distress.

Frank above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

I made the earliest u-turn to get a closer look at what I thought was surely a hawk then clearly seen in an undeveloped parcel of property.

I wasn't able to identify the hawk as Cooper's nor the prey at its feet which was a Eurasian Collared Dove until I hit the books back at home.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

This was an extraordinary experience to say the least.

That sighting is put in perspective somewhat as I think of the many hours I've spent observing the Burrowing Owl in which time I've seen in relative seconds the mating of the birds or even more uncommon their feeding behavior.

The Cooper's Hawk above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

An unusual late winter storm attributed to El Niño dumped a large amount of rain on the area these past couple of days which may prove beneficial to the owls with insect and other photographic opportunity across much of the state.

I would certainly like to have the opportunity to re-shoot the owls with them hunting for food with prey in focus beyond mice considered to be a staple in their diet.

The Cooper's Hawk with Eurasian Collared Dove above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

On my most recent trip to see the owls at and near the Cape Coral Library, I was very surprised to see fellow wildlife photographer Frank, visiting from Montréal, who I've seen for the third time at different venues in the area coincidentally.

With extreme optimism I hope to see my friend Tim Rucci later next week as he makes his way across Florida for some wildlife documentation with his friend Ken Conger.