The Brown-headed Nuthatch is a tiny bird with a very short tail and a very squeaky voice. Indeed, its voice sounds like that of a “rubber ducky”.The Brown-headed Nuthatch is one of three nuthatch species found in Florida, but the only one regularly found in south Florida. The Brown-headed Nuthatch is a bird of pines and is found in pinelands of Florida and the Southeast. It is a bird that feeds on insects and spiders that it finds in bark crevices and among the needles of pines. It eats pine seeds retrieved from open cones. Nuthatches fill a niche somewhat similar to that of a woodpecker – except that they not only move up a tree surface, but also down – head-first – thus they readily finds insects and spiders from above as well as from below or from the side – approaches that woodpeckers usually take.Like woodpeckers, nuthatches are cavity nesters. They readily excavate their own nest in well-rotted wood, use a natural cavity, or make use of an abandoned woodpecker cavity. Brown-headed Nuthatches are social birds and constantly chatter – squeaking – as they hunt for food. Florida’s other two nuthatches are similar in their behavior, but different in their habitats. The White-breasted Nuthatch nests and hunts primarily in hardwood trees in north Florida and elsewhere in eastern North America. The Red-breasted Nuthatch, is a winter visitor to north Florida from boreal forests far to the north.

The Knight Anole is a newcomer to Florida – first found here in the 1950s near Miami, and now found almost anywhere in the state. It is a native of Cuba that has also been spread to other islands of the Caribbean and to California – in part as a result of stowaways hiding in plants and among crates being shipped taken from Cuba and Florida, and in part through the pet trade. The Knight Anole is a handsome lizard – and a very large one – sometimes reaching 17 inches from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail. It is also an omnivore – eating almost anything, including other lizards, baby birds, mice, fruit, and more. It has been known from southwest Florida for several years and its numbers are growing.Watch for this green invader with white stripes on its face and side. Between April and August it can often be seen clinging head down on a tree trunk – waiting patiently for potential mates or the arrival of competitors. The rest of the year it is typically in the canopy of trees or palms feeding on whatever it can find among dense foliage.

Dragonflies are readily recognized because of their permanently outstretched wings that seem to twitter through the air rather than fly with a deep flapping flight. They are also often recognized because of their size and association with water. The diversity of dragonflies and damselflies in both color and size may rival the diversity of birds. Males, females, and juveniles also often differ greatly in color, such as in the Eastern Pond Hawk providing dragonfly-watchers with multiple challenges. We even have some invasive exotic dragonflies in our midst – such as the stunning Scarlet Skimmer in Florida.

The Barred Owl is perhaps our best-known owl because it is active during the day as well as at night, nests and hunts in cities as well as in mature forest, and is somewhat tolerant of human observers. Barred Owls get their name from the vertical “bar” stripes on its breast. They are also well known for their distinctive “eight-hooter” call cadence of the phrase “Who cooks for you …Who cooks for you all. Barred Owls feed on a diversity of small animals – ranging from mice, small birds, small snakes, lizards, insects, and especially crayfish.

The Queensland Umbrella Tree is sometimes known as the “Octopus Tree” because of its often nearly 3-foot-long stems that radiate upwards and outwards away from the its very large umbrella-like compound leaves. This puts the clusters of flowers and resulting fruit of the plant along each stem into the open – facilitating pollination of the tiny red flowers and easy access to the clusters of small purple fruit for birds that eat it and spread the seeds.

The White Ibis is a year-round resident of south Florida, but its population swells with winter migrants and shifts locations with availability of food in grasslands or shallow wetlands. While we think of it as a wetland bird, the White Ibis is also a grassland bird that is regularly seen along highways and even in our yards -- where it feeds on a diversity of insects and other small creatures. This ibis is a social bird, often seen foraging in small to large groups that are typically composed of birds of the same plumage – adults that are white, or juveniles that are gray-brown above and white below with a streaked neck. Adults and juveniles may be in the same group for a while, but a bird that is of a different color than others in the group makes it more vulnerable to a predator.

Armadillos are mammals with no close relatives and a fossil record that dates back millions of years.All are well-protected above by stout plates and scale-like structures but with narrow bands on the back that allow them to quickly curl up to protect their underside. They have many peg-like teeth that are continuously growing, and no teeth at the front of the mouth. Thus you don’t need to worry about being bitten.An armadillo’s legs are very strong and they are master diggers -- especially in sandy soils. They dig to find food and also to make shallow burrows where they shelter during hot days. They are somewhat gregarious and active mostly at night. Yes, they may dig holes in your yard, but the holes tend to be shallow and a cheap price to pay for an evening of watching them greatly reduce harmful insect populations-- and then they are likely to move on.

Spring is a busy time for both birds and humans. The cycle of life begins anew for both. Birds begin nest-building, then lay eggs in their nest, and tend to hatchlings; humans plant gardens, flowers, and begin the annual routine of yard care. When young birds leave the nest, their parents still must tend to the young – either providing them with food or leading them to good foraging areas and protecting them from potential predators. To birds, humans are potential predators. Birds scold, dive at, and sometimes even strike humans that come close to their nest or young. Such attacks can be indication that a nest or young is near – and attacks are a good cue to not prune a nest tree or shrub or to not mow over a ground nest. Attacks are also an opportunity to show youngsters the adults, their nest, eggs, and young… but from a distance.

Spanish Moss is familiar to anyone who has visited Florida. It can appear anywhere as a result of the wind dispersing its seeds as it does the seeds of dandelions. But development of the draping clusters of Spanish Moss depends on the seed landing in the right place – on a horizontal limb of a rough-barked tree near water or in a very humid environment. Most Spanish Moss plants only grow to a bit over a foot long, but as they reproduce, one plant becomes many plants linked together by their limb-like scaly-surfaced leaves.There is safety and a future for the plants in such a mass. The cluster of plants holds moisture in – allowing them to survive dry times and also facilitating pollination as insects move from a flower on one plant to a flower on another in the cluster. A mass of Spanish Moss plants appears gray during dry times as the plant shrinks, but is green in appearance as rains allow the plant to swell with water and expose bare areas between the scales.