With the Wild Things

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.

All bird species lay eggs, but the size, shape, and color of those egg shells varies greatly as a result of adaptations that camouflage the eggs, making them less conspicuous to predators. Egg size varies with the size of the bird – and that influences the condition of the bird at hatching and increases the length of time that an egg is incubated. Larger birds can lay eggs that contain a lot of nutrients, thus the chick that emerges from the egg is more developed.In the case of birds like Killdeer, Bobwhite, and sandpipers the chick leaves the nest within a few hours and finds food on its own. On the opposite extreme, small birds like wrens, warblers, woodpeckers, and sparrows must lay small eggs because of the adult’s small size – thus most development takes place in the nest after hatching and requires considerable parental care.

The European Starling is one of our most obvious exotic species. We see them everyday because we provide them with food and shelter. The next time you are at a stoplight, look around.You are likely to see starlings. Fast food restaurants and snack-providing gas stations are often located at intersections and garbage dumped in open trash bins, or dropped accidentally or on purpose by patrons of those businesses or by drivers getting a snack while the light is red create a smorgasbord for starlings. The convocation of utility wires at intersections also play a role. They provide perches where starlings wait for their next meal. Starlings are social birds and -- especially in late winter and early spring -- starlings can be lined up evenly spaced by the dozens – or hundreds – on the wires.Why are they so evenly spaced? They leave just enough space to allow them to take off quickly without their wings hitting their neighbor while still taking advantage of thebody heat of their neighbors.

The Queensland Umbrella Tree is named for the state of Queensland in Australia, where it is native, but it has been spread to warmer areas around the world through the horticulture trade for the beauty of its evergreen foliage and unique umbels of flowers and fruit. Unfortunately it is also an invasive exotic that has spread out of control wherever it has been introduced. Even its home country – Australia – considers the Queensland Umbrella Tree an invasive exotic. Queensland Umbrella Tree fruit is abundant and easily available to the diversity of birds and other animals that feed on it. In Florida Northern Mockingbirds often defend the fruit supply, but other birds manage to partake of it. Eastern Bluebirds, Red-bellied and Pileated woodpeckers, and many other species take advantage of it. After feasting, the seeds pass through a bird’s digestive tract and are deposited with a bit of fertilizer – facilitating growth of new trees elsewhere.

In the mid-1800s there was a massive emigration of humans from the Old World to the New World – brought on by tough economic times. It was the unemployed, the farmers, and others seeking a new life in the “promised land” of the United States. They knew little about that land except that they could start a new life. They brought with them what they could – including birds that they relied on for pest control – English Sparrows – now known as House Sparrows.

Pigeons and doves include over 350 species. Some are found on every continent except Antarctica. Pigeons (also known as Rock Doves) have been domesticated for food for centuries and were introduced to North America in the early 1600s. At least 15 species of pigeons and doves breed in the wild in North America and at least 6 species breed in the wild in Florida. Eurasian Collared Doves escaped from a breeder in the Bahamas, quickly became established in Florida in the 1980s, and now is found through much of North America. By far, the most common breeding dove in Florida is the Mourning Dove – so named for its mournful call.

Warmer weather is here and there’s yard work to be done!But be careful… poison ivy is already blooming.If you wish to limit your poison ivy’s presence, cut it off before those flowers turn to seeds.