I've already reported them to the FWC, so no advice is needed, this is just a vent post.
I've never had a problem with my HOA before, they stay out of everyone's business. My HOA has a nice park that our HOA fee (only $10/month) funds, which is really the whole point of this neighborhood having an HOA. It's a nice green space with a canal, tennis courts, basketball courts, and a large open field. A breeding pair of burrowing owls made their nest there, and per Florida law, they protected the nest by putting up some caution tape. Annoyingly people have been letting their dogs into that area (which I posted a nextdoor post bitching about and asked to stop whenever I saw it 🙃), but generally the owls have been fine and happy. They had chicks this summer; I'm not sure if they have left the nest yet or not.
On Friday, I was walking my dog and saw some landscapers in the area, so I turned around and walked the other way to give them space. Saturday, I took my dog out and saw that they had clear-cut the whole nest! I'm furious. Those owls are a threatened species and have state protections.
Rationally, it may have just been a miscommunication between the HOA, the landscaping company, and the guys who actually do the work... but I'm still mad. I reported them to the FWC and hopefully some action is taken / the nest is better protected.
In this world, everyone is bird--or rather, everyone important and meaningful is bird. Sure, there are plenty of other animals, but you can't have a conversation with them or trade with them. Humans? What are those? The only smart ones around here are birds. They may not have opposable thumbs, and they haven't figured most things out, but it's hard using your beak and your feet for everything, so give them a little credit!
Today, let’s look at burrowing owls.
The Burrowing Owl - If owls were social and had a sense of humor
- Males spend way more time outside, to the point of the sun bleaching their feathers a bit while the females spend all day underground incubating and rearing young
- Active during the day AND the night--but make sure to avoid hottest part of the day
- Monogamous, tend to mate for life, and pairs form loose colonies
- Can build their own burrows but prefer to use pre-existing ones, like from prairie dogs
- Known to imitate rattlesnakes while inside burrow when threatened
- Dust baths!
For these guys, I imagine their intelligence would bump up their burrow skills, leading to a possibly vast system of underground tunnels and nests, though I haven't figured out just how extensive I want them to be (like if I want there to be trade routes connecting one owl colony to another). So you've got a group of owls spending potentially their entire life in a single colony, which means everyone knows just about everyone--for better and for worse. I like to think about everyone going off to their own little nest/house underground and taking a little midday siesta.
With their funny bobbing/tilting heads and their penchant for mimicking snakes, I imagine they're some silly little pranksters. I don't want to forget that they're primarily owls and make them straight up extroverts, but I do want to emphasize the fact that they're pretty strange for owls. Most owls barely even tolerate another member of their species being within earshot--meanwhile these guys are cool with letting their children hang out together. Plus, with them being more tolerant of teamwork, that leads to possibilities of more impressive architecture/technology/things in general that solo birds just can't achieve.
For the story I've got going on, I'll just be looking at the rare Florida kiddos instead of the deserty ones. I haven't really thought about trades/jobs or other specifics--just trying to give a general vibe of the species for now!
Ideas, questions, or any feedback i
... keep reading on reddit ➡
Would Hogwarts allow it?
