Burrowing Owl - Brian Piccolo Park, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Burrowing Owl - Brian Piccolo Park, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia), Adult
We came to this park specifically to see these fascinating birds. This was my first time seeing them in the wild and I will go back many times, and hopefully see them elsewhere as well. This photo was taken 2/1/24 at 11:52 am.
WeForest Donation: $380 (What is this?)
Print Number: 2/3
Print Size: 18 × 18 in.
Total Dimensions: 26 × 26 in.
Total Weight: 10 lbs
Hanging equiment and certificate of authenticity included.
PHOTOGRAPH
Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia)
A Burrowing Owl is a downright weird bird. Owls are pretty interesting and unique birds to begin with, but a Burrowing Owl takes it to the next level. Living in underground dens, and hunting during the day, it almost seems as if the Owl does not know it is an Owl at all. Some burrows are dug by the Owls themselves — wouldn’t you like to witness that — although they are known to also overtake old tortoise, ground squirrel, or prairie dog holes. They can be found, during parts of the year, throughout the midwestern United States, and year-round throughout the south west, Florida, Mexico, and most of southern South America. They tend to be homebodies, staying near their burrows, and this is especially true during incubation and brooding. They even have food caches in their burrows, building them up when food is plentiful. The largest such cache discovered had over 200 rodents in it!
LOCATION
Brian Piccolo Park, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Mostly a sports park, containing multiple soccer fields, baseball diamonds, and even a cricket field, Brian Piccolo Park opened in 1989. The coolest part of the park is less well known, but has a cult following. It is home to quite a plethora of Burrowing Owls. They have staked their claim on the unused fields between parking lots. You can see them if you look very hard and are very patient, and pay attention to the signs. Yes there are signs noting where the Owls reside and warning humans to not get too close as to disrupt the Owls natural behavior.
FRAME
Pecky Cypress (Taxodium distichum)
Known as Bald Cypress, this giant of the swamp is native to the southeastern United States. It can adapt to thrive in a wide range of soils, including very briny, salty, and water soaked areas. The pecky nature of the wood is created by a fungus that attacks the tree and eats away at its truck from the inside out. When the tree is cut down the fungus dies and leaves behind the beautiful architecture of its destruction. All of the Bald Cypress I have used in my frames has come from different parts of Louisiana.
THE ELEMENTS
Fire, Water, Earth, and Air
In the display case in the bottom of the frame, four items are in preserved glass vials. The items represent the elements: fire (wood charcoal), water (mineral oil), earth (soil), and air (a milkweed seed). I include these items in my work as a symbol of the interconnectedness of all life on Earth, and as a reminder that humans must do better.
THE PLAQUE
Magnetic Information Plaque
I engrave a wooden information plaque for each work. The plaque includes what the photograph is of, the location of the photograph, what type of wood the frame is made of, and where I sourced the wood. The plaques also explain why the vials are included in each work. The back of each plaque states the meaning of my logo: “The circle represents our home, Planet Earth. The hourglass represents time. The five horizontal lines in the bottom of the hourglass represent the five mass extinction periods that have occurred in the past. The single line falling through the hourglass represents our current mass extinction period, caused by us.” The plaques are attached magnetically and can be removed to read or to store on the back of each frame if you prefer not to have it displayed on the front.
