Owl Watch Volunteer Training

On Saturday, January 27th, the Owl Watch Marco volunteers kicked off its ninth season to a capacity crowd at Mackle Park. 

Lori Beall, Audubon of the Western Everglades (AWE) Program Director for the last 13 years, was excited to welcome the 2024 Owl Watch volunteers. Also joining via Zoom was Brad Cornell, AWE Policy Director, who joined AWE in 2005. Brad thanked the Owl Watch Family and Friends for their interest and dedication. He introduced the newest addition to the AWE team, Andy Wells-Bean, Executive Director, who also warmly welcomed all the attendees. 

Brittany Piersma was visibly overwhelmed by the amount of support and the number of volunteers that showed up for the 2024 Owl Watch training. She welcomed and thanked everyone. “The teamwork between these groups and agencies is incredible,” said Piersma.

Melissa Hennig of Conservation Collier applauded the attendees for their passion in conservation. She has been in the program for 20 years and informed the attendees that one of the first properties bought under the program was Marco’s Otter Mound in 2004.

Joanna Fitzgerald, Director of the von Arx Wildlife Hospital, thanked the roomful of people who care about our wildlife. She shared that 4,000 injured animals a year are admitted to the Wildlife Hospital and recognized and thanked members of the audience who are also wildlife couriers.

Keith Richter of the Marco Island Code Enforcement said, “You can’t find a more passionate group about wildlife than the Owl Watch volunteers.” He added that they enforce all the codes relating to protected species in Marco Island, and most likely, the most common violations encountered will be on vacant lots where vehicles are parking too close to burrows.

Also in attendance was FWC Officer Milton Osorio, who said, “I was not expecting this many people.” He commended the group for being Champions of Conservation and for their roles as additional eyes on the ground, which are invaluable in helping to identify and prevent potential violations. Another FWC Officer, Markiel Curbello, sent a recorded message thanking the group for their passion and dedication.

Out of sight but NOT out of mind. Jean Hall was notably missed during the 2024 training. She is now residing in Maine but made sure to send her video message, “I can’t tell you how proud I am of this project, for being a part of it and I will try to stay involved and visit sometime in the spring to take photos of banded owls. You continue to flourish and protect these tenacious little raptors that we all love so much. I know that I was one of the sparks that started the project, and you listen to Brittany during this training.”

Hall was more than a spark for the Owl Watch Marco Program. In 2016, AWE took over the program from Nancy Richie. For 15 years prior, as Marco’s environmental specialist, Richie collected the owl data with a group of local volunteers who also maintained the sites. They were called Owl Prowls of Marco.

The Owl Watch of Marco, under the coordination of AWE, had decided to continue the program. It was a “citizen science project,” as the volunteers are not biologists but whose field of observations are vital to preserving the burrowing owls. In 2016, they started with 20 volunteers, with Hall as the first Project Manager. They recorded 158 burrowing owl sites on Marco Island. 

According to Piersma, “Our 90 Owl Watch volunteers for the 2024 nesting season will be monitoring owl sites, entering data, reporting violations, educating the public, and helping me band owls. Let’s all work together to protect these owls by giving them plenty of space, keeping eyes on the road and driving slow, especially at night, using alternative rat poison, keeping dogs on leashes and cats indoors, and reporting any concerns regarding owls or burrows to: owlwatchmarco@gmail.com.”