A cringeworthy knock knock joke to begin
A prosaic list of locations that follow
A sorry excuse for a poem
A written record to assist memory in later years.
Owl be seeing you as I remember Florida
Barred owls and burrowing owls in January
Great horned owls in February and March
So many owls everywhere we looked.
The recurrent sightings of nesting great horned owls amazed us
Starting with the Boca Ciega Park horned owlet seen first
Both parents near and close to us when the eagle swooped
We witnessed the female owl bristling and flying to the nest.
In Eagle Lakes Park our neighborhood pair courting at sunset
Silhouettes seen overhead in bare trees as she preened him
Yellow evening light glowing in their yellow eyes
Horned whoo whoo hoots reverberating.
In Philippe Point Park a nest hidden in the resurrection
ferns
We observed the parents through the incubation period
Pointing out the owls to the curious in the parking lot
And returned later to see the owlet and paparazzi gathered
under.
In John Chesnut Park locating yet another horned owl nest
Pointed out to us as we walked the boardwalk
With just a tail visible extending backwards
So unexpected this revelation of nesting owls.
On Honeymoon Island looking at a horned owlet in a nest
With the female watching us from nearby
Astounded how many horned owls and owlets we have seen
This year we seem to be surrounded.
Driving through St. Augustine Shores
Stopping to check a large nest next to the road
Finding two horned owlets looking out at us
With the female spotted not far away.
Returning north in April to New Jersey Midland Park
Checking the hollow in the dead tree across the McFaul
Center pond
Another owlet is there or two or three
And the female must be lurking nearby.
This for sure is the year of the owl
The likes of which we may never see again
Though now we know all these places to look
If we may be there next year to seek them out.
