Protecting Our Burrowing Owl Neighbors

Lemon Bay Conservancy is taking a lead role in a recently launched initiative to help protect a small colony of Florida Burrowing Owls living in a developing area off Gasparilla Road.  Our plans include a $100,000 fundraising goal to purchase and maintain properties for permanent Burrowing Owl Habitat Protection.

4 owlets at their burrow

These charismatic little owls live in underground burrows and hunt insects and rodents in the surrounding grasslands.  They are listed by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission as a state-threatened species, primarily due to habitat loss. They lay their eggs underground and welcome the fragile new owlets to the area around their burrows.

Only one small group of Burrowing Owls, with fewer than 50 adults, live in western Charlotte County.

In June 2024, Susy d’Hont, LBC member and birding enthusiast, called together local environmentalists and representatives from Lemon Bay Conservancy, Peace River Audubon, and the Conservancy of North Port, with the goal of creating an action plan to help protect our local owls as the area around them develops.  A set of action areas developed out of that meeting.

• Map and Monitor the Colony
• Clearly Mark Burrow Locations
• Begin Community Outreach
• Connect with Outside Experts
• Acquire Lots to Provide Permanent Owl Habitat

You can read details on each action areas by clicking “Burrowing Owls” on our website menu, or by clicking here to go to our Burrowing Owl Habitat Initiative Overview page.

Lemon Bay Conservancy has established a program to acquire selected lots to provide permanent protected habits for the owls.  Lots in areas near the owls are currently selling in the $15,000 to $20,000 range.  Our goal for 2026 is to raise $100,000 to fund additional property purchases and to provide for ongoing ownership costs. 

Want to Learn More or Help Us Out? 

Learn:  If you’d like to learn more about this exciting project, mark your calendar to join us for our LBC annual meeting on January 22, 2026, where our Burrowing Owl Initiative will be the featured topic.  Click here for meeting details:
LBC Annual Meeting

Volunteer:  We need volunteers to help with burrow monitoring, burrow maintenance, and spreadsheet data entry.  We invite you to come out and help our volunteer team!  Please send us an email to info@LemonBayConservancy.org, or call the office at 941-830-8922 if you’d like to get involved.

Donate:

• To make an online donation:  click here:  Burrowing Owl Habitat Protection Fund
• By mail, send your donation, marked for Burrowing Owl Habitat Protection, to our P.O. Box:
  Lemon Bay Conservancy, P.O. Box 1458, Englewood, FL 34295.
• By phone, call us at 941-830-8922.  Please leave a message if necessary and we will return your call.

For donors considering major contributions, we can arrange a private tour to visit the owl burrows and learn more about these amazing creatures.  Please email or call us using the contact information shown above.

A Few Quick Facts about Florida Burrowing Owls: Burrowing Owls are 9” tall with a 21” wingspan. They weigh around 5 ounces, about the same weight as a tennis ball or a deck of cards. They have brightly colored eyes and long legs. Their burrows are an average of 5’ long, sometimes up to 12’, and up to 3’ underground. The female lays 1 to 6 eggs and incubates them underground for 4 weeks while the male brings food and keeps watch above. The newly hatched owlets remain underground for an additional 2 weeks before first emerging. The owlets begin trying to fly almost immediately, and can fly well at 6 weeks. The parents continue to feed the owlets for 12 weeks until they are fully independent. Burrowing Owls can’t move their eyes.  To see in different directions, they can turn their heads 270 degrees.

A young burrowing owlet