Let the Bernie Braden park owls have their nest
To the editor:
I don’t necessarily consider myself a tree hugger or an ax murderer for that matter, but I am trying to think of a balanced way to preserve two owls in Bernice Braden Park adjacent to the Cape Coral Chamber of Commerce parking lot.
These two owls are known by three separate names: “Fire and Cracker” “Cape and Coral” and, as I have named them, “Eunice ‘Lovey’ and Thurston Owl III.” Last year these two owls had a nest that was admittedly somewhat in the center field of Bernice Braden Park and became the topic of contentious discussion prior to the July 4th Red White & Boom! fireworks event. Some people said the owls had to go, others said that the fireworks event should be canceled and the heated debate went on for weeks until just days before the July 4th celebration. Employees of the City destroyed the burrow that protected the owls, forcing them to be homeless and unprotected.
Only days after Red White & Boom! event the owls immediately came back and made a new burrow by the edge of the Chamber parking lot. Now let me make this clear: If you were trying to make a “welcome center exhibit” with burrowing owls to welcome visitors to the community and educate them on our official City Bird, you could not have picked a more perfect location for them to build their burrow.
On Dec. 12, 2019, the city of Cape Coral requested that John Curtis of Johnson engineering apply for a Programmatic multiyear permit valid through 2024 to take any owl’s nest on the property whether it is necessary to remove them or not.
It is my belief that the whole idea of parks is so that the community can still remain in contact and feel a “part of” nature. I believe that in building and planning parks not only should nature be taken into account, but also embraced and protected whenever possible. In this case, we are not talking about a soccer, football or baseball field. Those areas, it is obvious, must be kept clear for sporting events. We have other parks with large open fields in which many events can be held and the owls seem not to like. One that comes to mind is Jaycee Park. Bernice Braden Park, on the other hand, is long and narrow, cut in half by Cape Coral Parkway entering the bridge and surrounded on three sides by the Caloosahatchee River. Other than the Red White & Boom! 4th of July event and New Year’s fireworks crowd accommodations, this park has never been used for scheduled events. In fact, the park’s main attraction is sunrise photographs and fishing.
I firmly believe that it is unnecessary to evict these particular owls from this particular burrow. Accommodations can easily be made not only protecting, but embracing, these two cute and very persistent creatures. I want to make it clear that I am not advocating the cancellation of the city’s take permit nor do I believe that any owl nesting in the park has to be kept there. I am merely saying that these two owls in this location can be a huge benefit to the community.
It is my belief that the city’s plans and this owls’ nest can coexist as long as a reasonable effort is made. So let me be clear: I am not saying cancel the fireworks And I am not saying move the owls. It is my opinion that we can have both. Out of approximately 146,000 square feet, I think the owls can have 300 to 500 hundred of it. (Room used to park 5 or 6 cars.)
Christopher Specht
Cape Coral