Hello, I am new here

[Soldier4Christ]

This owl is quite broad. Much broader than a robin but about the same in height.

[islandboy]

We have Burrowing Owls in Florida, as well. I have not seen them in our area, but I have heard of them and seen pictures. They are small, about 8-10 inches tall and live in burrows and are said to sometimes share their dens with gophers, furry little sized critters, like prairie dogs but smaller. Also they sometimes share holes with gopher turtles. Now I don't know how that arrangement would work out as sometimes rattlesnakes live in those same burrows. Maybe the owls live in areas where there are less or no snakes, I do not know.
We have screech owls and barred owls too.

[Soldier4Christ]

I found what is called the Northern Saw-whet Owl that I am sure is the same one I see around here a lot. From what it says is that it is actually a couple inches shorter than a Robin but weighs about the same or a little more than one. The following link shows some pictures of them.

http://www.peregrinefund.org/explore_raptors/owls/nsawwhet.html

They have a pretty good article on the Burrowing Owl also:

http://www.peregrinefund.org/explore_raptors/owls/burrwowl.html

[nChrist]

I found what is called the Northern Saw-whet Owl that I am sure is the same one I see around here a lot. From what it says is that it is actually a couple inches shorter than a Robin but weighs about the same or a little more than one. The following link shows some pictures of them.

http://www.peregrinefund.org/explore_raptors/owls/nsawwhet.html

They have a pretty good article on the Burrowing Owl also:

http://www.peregrinefund.org/explore_raptors/owls/burrwowl.html

Thanks for the links. I wish that I had looked this up before. The pictures with the article looked like what we saw, but the detail is much better. The only look we got was through a cheap set of binoculars. It appears that the park ranger was in error in calling the burrowing owl rare. The article was great.

Islandboy, I specifically asked the ranger about rattlesnakes because we have a ton of them. There's the value of the prairie dog warning system. Prairie dogs warn each other from fairly long distances with a relay bark (more like a higher pitched "yip"). It really isn't a bark like a dog, but it's fun to watch their warning system kick into gear. They go into a standing position with each bark and then back down. It's as if the bark takes great effort. It's relayed pretty quickly. Prairie dogs are tough little guys that are extremely difficult to catch. I'm almost sure that they also have escape plans.     So, the burrowing owls benefit greatly from their advanced warning system. The owls are probably the big winner in this living arrangement. I'll assume that the owl packs a horrible bite, even one this small. The prairie dogs didn't appear to pay much attention to them just 5 or 6 feet away, so I'll assume they have mutual respect for each other and both like the arrangement.

[Soldier4Christ]

I wonder if the park ranger meant that they were on the endangered species list, which they are.

[nChrist]

I wonder if the park ranger meant that they were on the endangered species list, which they are.

I've been looking for an excuse to go back to the refuge and enjoy this time of the year, so this will work just fine. As far as I know, there was no prefix or suffix to the term of "burrowing". I'll try to find out.

[Debp]

Also they sometimes share holes with gopher turtles. Now I don't know how that arrangement would work out as sometimes rattlesnakes live in those same burrows. Maybe the owls live in areas where there are less or no snakes, I do not know.

I have never seen an owl here.  But I have a question about the snakes in FL.  What kind do you have besides the rattlesnakes?  Any poisonous ones besides rattlers?  Someone once told my mom that in FL there are spiders as big as teacups....is this true?  Also, they said that people put different color bands of insecticides around their homes to try to keep the bugs out.  Do people still do this?  Is the bug problem in FL that bad?

[islandboy]

There are three different types of rattlesnakes in Florida. There are coral snakes and water moccasins, that are all poisonous. I know there are spiders called Wolf Spiders, that are quite large. I don't know about the use of color bands. Bugs are a problem. Palmetto bugs, and other roaches, and ants are the worst in house bugs. Keeping the house clean and eliminating damp areas, like leaky pipes & such also helps keep them away. But they are a known Florida bug problem that even the cleanest house can see them on occasion.

[Debp]

Palmetto bugs, and other roaches, and ants are the worst in house bugs. Keeping the house clean and eliminating damp areas, like leaky pipes & such also helps keep them away. But they are a known Florida bug problem that even the cleanest house can see them on occasion.

I think roaches are a problem in warm/hot, year round states....especially, if one lives in an apartment, as they can come in from the other apartments.  So it's a real battle....our building has an exterminator, but one can still see them sometimes.  So we buy Combat and also get some traps from the manager.  We hadn't seen any for years until recently...maybe they are getting immune.  They claim if an atomic bomb goes off, the roaches will still be around. 

[Soldier4Christ]

During the atomic bomb tests in the 40's through the 60's it was evident that cockroaches would survive such an occurrence because after the tests were completed they found cockroaches in the test area.

Warm climates are excellent for insects. San Diego had a big problem with roaches and fleas year round. I was continually battling them. Here the problem decreases during the winter. If we have a really harsh winter there are fewer, but during mild winters there are a lot more.

[Debp]

During the atomic bomb tests in the 40's through the 60's it was evident that cockroaches would survive such an occurrence because after the tests were completed they found cockroaches in the test area.

Warm climates are excellent for insects. San Diego had a big problem with roaches and fleas year round. I was continually battling them. Here the problem decreases during the winter. If we have a really harsh winter there are fewer, but during mild winters there are a lot more.

So it is based on fact (roaches survive atomic bomb!).  I guess they were radioactive, too.

Anyone remember a person put jewels on these big roaches and people were buying them and wearing them!    Also, there are big hissing cockroaches from some other areas of the world.  I've never seen them, but our Natural History Musuem has a live insect section and has those roaches.  That insect room is packed whenever I've been there.
The butterfly exhibit (outside the musuem) I've visited a few times.

[islandboy]

One thing that works well in killing roaches is plain ole borax. I put it around the edges of walls and counters in certain areas of our house and when they walk through it, it sticks to their feet and when they clean their feet it is digested and drys them out, from the inside out. If you have housepets, I would recommend it be put only in areas the pet can not get to it, such as inside cupboards or like on the shelf behind items. Roaches can be found eating paper, such as books, eating soap in the bathroom, they eat things most insects would not even consider. They love cat food and dog food, so if you feed your animal be sure to put away uneaten food or it will at tact them.
I have been told of houses that were so filled with roaches that it even grossed out the exterminators.

Tom,
You mentioned your area has lots of rattlesnakes. Do you find them in your yard?

[Soldier4Christ]

I use Boric Acid myself. It is a form of Borax but is less toxic to dogs and cats. It can kill a dog or cat but it would take a whole lot of it to do so. It has always taken care of my roach problem. I lived in an old house where the walls were made of a fibre. It was built during the depression when dry wall was practically non-existent. The fibre board was made from paper by-products and the roaches loved eating it. When the house was bombed by professional exterminators they simply went into the walls away from it and managed to survive. It was horrible to see how many there were. I put out the Boric Acid, drilled tiny holes in the walls that were easy to patch and poured some into the walls, too. I also poured a thin trail all the way around the outside of the house. At the time I had 5 dogs and 4 cats in the house and another three outside dogs. None of them got the least bit sick but the roaches were gone.

[nChrist]

Hello Islandboy,

You asked me if we get rattlesnakes in the yard. It's really very rare, and it's usually something gone wrong with the balance of nature. Our wildlife refuge is huge and usually has everything the native animals need. It has over 30 lakes and an unknown number of streams, and it also has part of the Wichita Mountains. We also have an annual rattlesnake hunt that draws people from all over the country. They've had the hunts for my entire life, so I assume that the hunts are necessary to maintain the balance of nature. NO - I am NOT a rattlesnake wrangler. I'm sure that many of the people who come are pros at handling snakes, and I'll be glad to watch them from a safe distance.   

The few incidents I'm aware of in the city over the years usually involved very small rattlers compared to what they get in the hunts. There's also an annual sale of buffalo and long horns from the refuge to maintain balance and healthy animals. In short, I'm not aware of any animals that don't thrive there (i.e. deer, elk, wild pigs and turkeys, etc.).

[islandboy]

In talking about roaches, I use Boric Acid. Borax was a bit of memory loss and trying to remember  how to spell Boric Acid. 
I have not seen a rattlesnake for several years. A friend of mine is an avid snakehunter and he says it is a rare event for him to find one. He does however, find lots of the non-poisenous ones.
Found an interesting article in the newspaper today, it seems they have deemed it necessary to study dragonflies. Scientists in SW Florida, at the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge, in Lee County, are trying to determine what factors cause dragonflies to feed when and where on the Sanibel island. So they have marked off six  15-meter sections along both sides of the Sanibel-Captiva Road, and while one researcher looks for roadkill dragonfly's, another researcher counts the dragonfly's that fly into and out of each quadrant. They also record air temperature, wind, speed, light intensity, and dominant vegetation. Finally they use a insect aspirator and vacuum a 1 square -meter of roadside grass to suck up insects for identification and density. The researchers say that if we show that certain roadsides are more likely to put dragonflies at risk, we can indicate to Floridians and departments of transportation how they can manage roadsides to reduce roadkilled dragonflies. To support the dragonfly larvae, you need healthy aquatic environment. (Aquatic means wet lands which means mosquitoes breeding grounds as well).     Another way our tax dollars are hard at work.   
Interesting to note is that Lee County has 27 dragonfly species and eight damselfly species. Dragonflies and Damselflies belong to the order Odonata, which means "toothed ones." Dragonfly's are really fast, they fly 30 miles an hour. Motor vehicles splatter insects all the time so why worry about dragonflies???  Good question.  Their answer. If you have healthy populations of dragonflies means you have healthy aquatic and terrestrial habitats. 
Which in laymens terms means if you have lots of dragonflies, you have a healthy mosquito population, as that is what dragonflies eat.