Burrow Buddies Club Saving Owls and Tortoises

Tommie Barfield’s Burrow Buddies Club meets once a month under the guidance of teacher Stephanie Parker and Brittany Piersma, staff biologist for the Audubon of the Western Everglades (AWE). It is Ms. Parker’s goal this year to highlight both the burrowing owl and gopher tortoises of Marco. For this semester 16 club members of third and fifth graders are taking action in protecting both species by making lively and colorful signs for placement all over the island near owls and gopher tortoise burrows.

 “Let Them Be,” said one sign and it sums up the message the students were trying to convey. Using their creativity, Tommie Barfield Elementary School (TBE) Burrow Buddies Club created signs with owls and gopher tortoise photos and added their own colorful drawings, slogans and messages.

“Slow Down, Burrowing Owls Nearby” was another sign. These young students are teaching us to be more aware of our driving habits in areas with owls and gopher tortoises. Vehicular strikes are deadly to both burrowing owls and the slow-moving gopher tortoises.

“Stop Poisoning Our Food” is a very strong message and after reading this sign, I bet you are going to go home and read all about it. Here on Marco, there is a common practice to use highly potent rodenticide or rat poison designed to kill rats, which is a food source for raptors like our burrowing owls. And not just owls but also can accidentally poison our cats and dogs. An owl sees a rat staggering around and pounces on it or takes it home to feed the babies and they all get poisoned.

Several months ago Brittany Piersma took a majestic barn owl to the von Arx Wildlife Hospital – but it was too late. It showed signs of rodenticide poisoning. Piersma recommends the use of Good Nature CO2 traps which are non-toxic and which is kinder for the pest and for other wildlife.

“How Would You Like It if You Were These Animals” was another sign. Around late October several bags of mothballs were discovered inside a burrow. An FWC Officer came to investigate and removed the bags of mothballs and the case is under investigation.

I consulted with a local veterinarian, Dr. Joe Parisi, and this is the information he shared with me “unfortunately residents use mothballs as deterrents for animals nesting on their property. Consider the severe effects of a large number of mothballs in a very small space such as a burrow with no fresh air – it could have lethal effects.”

Marco is a perfect living laboratory for conservation and the Burrow Buddies Club members are very lucky learning about the burrowing owls and gopher tortoises. first hand. Come nesting season the students will be observing a live pair of nesting burrowing owls on school ground. And just a mile away are gopher tortoise burrows.

They Get it! And the students want you to do the same. As you drive or walk around Marco, you might encounter one of these signs. They are very compelling in their simplicity and honesty. Please make sure you stop to read them.

At an early age, the Burrow Buddies Club members are learning to be agents of change by teaching everyone to respect the owls and gopher tortoises in our neighborhood. With their rapid loss of habitat on Marco, the window to “take action” to keep these species locally is slowly shrinking.

They say conservation is a generational thing – that each generation needs to be better than the last! TBE’s Burrow Buddies Club is a good start by making a difference locally one owl or gopher tortoise at a time. According to Piersma,

“The students were excited to make the signs for the public to create awareness on how we can protect them.”

“Hoo Hoo Save the Owls” for TBE’s Burrow Buddies Club! Conservation starts with one sign.