A “Turtley Owlsome” Event at Mackle Park

Whoooo are the Burrow Buddies? On Saturday, April 6th, the community celebrated the FourthAnnual Burrow Buddies Day, sponsored by the Audubon of the Western Everglades (AWE). It was a fun family event to learn more about Marco’s burrowing owls and gopher tortoises. 

“In 2021 we hosted our first Gopher Tortoise Day,” said Brittany Piersma, Field Biologist for AWE. “Repeated this event in 2022 and then expanded it to Burrow Buddies Day in 2023 to celebrate both gopher tortoises and burrowing owls. It takes months of planning and we were thrilled by the incredible turnout for our fourth year! Many of our dedicated volunteers plus Marco Island Academy high school students helped with the planning, setup, event, and cleanup! I want to personally thank Marco PD Code Enforcement, Conservancy of Southwest Florida Hospital staff, U.S. Fish and Wildlife biologists, Babcock Ranch's environmental manager, Humble Bumble, and Brian McLaren for hosting tables with further education and outreach.” 

As part of the Burrow Buddies experience, each guest was given a set of Burrow Buddies trivia questions. Onetrivia question at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida table asked,“What should you do if you find an injured animal?and displayed the bandagedshell of a tortoise that was hit by a car. According to the Conservancy, most injuries are caused by interactions with humans, including car strikes, domestic pet attacks, fishing line and hook injuries, and toxicosis associated with red tide. Injuredgopher tortoises are also slow to heal and will require pain medication, antibiotics and bandages for several weeks to months.The Conservancy’s table also gave out portable rescue boxes. And to answer the question, if you see injured wildlife, call von Arx Wildlife Hospital at 239-262-2273. 

And as a reminder, never, ever put a tortoise in the water. They are terrestrial turtles, and they can’t swim. 

Another trivia question asked,“What is a keystone species?”Visitors learned that gopher tortoises are considered a keystone species in that other animals depend on their burrows for survival. Tortoise burrows are used by over 350 other species, including the Burrowing Owl and the endangered Eastern Indigo snake. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service brought an endangered Eastern Indigo Snake to educate the public that this specieshas beenknown to share the burrows of gopher tortoises. 

The Marco Island Police Department table answered the question,“What should you do if you see a gopher tortoise crossing the road?”This was a favorite stop for everybody. If you find a tortoise in the road, you may help the tortoise cross the road but only if it is safe for you to do so. Carefully pick up the tortoise and place it out of harm’s way in the same direction it was heading. 

“We enjoyed seeing the kids participating in trivia, games, burrow-making, perch decorating, pellet dissecting, and other activities!” said Piersma. “We hope to see you all again next year! To support our efforts check out our website at audubonwe.org!” 

According to Piersma, vehicle collisions are the number one cause of death for gopher tortoises on Marco Island. For this small population, each fatality has a huge impact on their long-term survival. The use of pesticides on their food source is another cause of death. 

Vehicular collision is also the number one cause of death for burrowing owls, and they are most vulnerable during nesting season – which is currently in high gear. Soon parent owls will be hunting for the newly hatched chicks, and they tend to fly low across the road, so SLOW DOWN when driving at night. 

Owls and other wildlife are eating tainted prey aced with rodenticide. Visitors also received information on analternative to rat poison like Snap Traps Contained, Goodnature CO2 Traps, Rat Zapper Contained, Fertility Control EX, Contrapestand Cayenne Pepper Deterrent.