Wildlife
Read MoreSnowy Owls are very large owls with smoothly rounded heads and no ear tufts. The body is bulky, with dense feathering on the legs that makes the bird look wide at the base when sitting on the ground. Look for Snowy Owls sitting on or near the ground in wide-open areas. They often perch on rises such as the crests of dunes, or on fenceposts, telephone poles, and hay bales.
The male Painted Bunting is often described as the most beautiful bird in North America. Its colors, dark blue head, green back, red rump, and underparts, make it extremely easy to identify. Painted Buntings forage on the ground in dense cover, among grasses, or at seed feeders. Sometimes they venture out into grass to forage on seeds.
A big and tall owl with a large round head. Silvery gray overall - patterned with fine white, gray, and brown streaking and faint barring. Across the neck sits a white "bow tie" with a black center. Great Gray Owls spend their time in dense evergreen pine and fir forests with small openings or meadows nearby.
The Bohemian Waxwing is grayish brown overall with subtle peach blushing around its black mask. The wings have 2 distinctive white rectangular patches and red waxlike tips on the secondaries. The undertail is rusty and the tail is tipped in yellow. Bohemian Waxwings spend the nonbreeding season in open areas that have plentiful fruit, from city parks to forest patches near streams.
Small duck with slender bill and flamboyant oversized head. Hood can be raised or lowered changing the shape of the head. Look for Hooded Mergansers on small bodies of freshwater. In summer, these small ducks nest in holes in trees, often near freshwater ponds or rivers. For winter, they move to larger bodies of freshwater.
Large, gangly waterbird with a long, hooked bill. Juveniles have orange-yellow skin around the bill and a paler neck and breast. After fishing, stands on docks, rocks, and tree limbs with wings spread open to dry. Double-crested Cormorants are the most widespread cormorant in North America, and the one most frequently seen in freshwater.
The Prothonotary warbler is a small songbird of the New World warbler family. It has an olive back with blue-grey wings and tail, yellow underparts, a relatively long pointed bill, and black legs. The adult male has a bright orange-yellow head. Females and immature birds are duller and have a yellow head.
Blue-winged Warblers are small birds with a sharp and pointed bill. Adult males are bright yellow below, yellow-green above, and have two obvious wingbars on blue-gray wings, and a black eyeline. The Blue-winged Warbler is a shrubland specialist, and are found in brushy fields, thickets, and forest edges.
Sandhill Cranes are very large, tall birds with a long neck, long legs, and very broad wings. These are slate gray birds, often with a rusty wash on the upperparts. Adults have a pale cheek and red skin on the crown. Their legs are black. Sandhill Cranes forage for grains and invertebrates in prairies, grasslands, and marshes.
Nanday's are medium-sized parakeets. The black head and green body are the basic identifiers, but they also have a tinge of blue in the chest and wings, and bright, reddish-orange "cuffs" on their legs. The species is native to South America but have established self-sustaining populations in some areas of Florida.
American Tree Sparrows are small, round-headed birds that often fluff out their feathers, making their plump bodies look even chubbier. Look for small flocks of American Tree Sparrows in winter in weedy fields with hedgerows or shrubs, along forest edges, or near marshes. They readily visit backyards, especially if there's a seed feeder.
Stocky and compact heron. Often tucks neck into it's body creating a hunchback look. Adults have a black cap and back that contrasts with it's whitish to pale gray belly and gray wings. Black-crowned Night-Herons often spend their days perched on tree limbs or concealed among foliage and branches. They forage in the evening and at night, in water, on mudflats, and on land.
The White-throated Sparrow is a large, full-bodied sparrow with a fairly prominent bill, rounded head, long legs, and long, narrow tail. They're brown above and gray below with a striking head pattern. The black-and-white-striped head is augmented by a bright white throat and yellow between the eye and the bill, which is gray. White-throated Sparrows stay near the ground, scratching through leaves in search of food, often in flocks.