I had been to the Fort Myers, Florida area several times to photograph birds out on Sanibel Island. Each time, I drove right past the town of Cape Coral not knowing that it was a hotspot for burrowing owls. Last time I was there, I stumbled upon an article on the owls and decided to look around. Every inch of Cape Coral seems to be developed with suburban sprawl. Still, the owls find places to build nests — be it in homeowners yards, or small plots of grass adjacent to strip malls, gas stations and Walmarts. Luckily, the residents seem to take it as a badge of honor if a pair of owls digs out a nest in their yard and they do all they can to protect them from harm. Of course, it also helps that they are federally protected. When I was there it was mostly overcast, but then suddenly a little bit of late day sun poked through and I got this shot.

www.seancrane.com