Floridian Nature

Owls are a common bird in Floridian nature. They come in a variety of sizes and help keep area rodents in check.  Five species of owls call Florida home and include the screech owl, barn owl, barred owl, horned owl and burrowing owl. The barn owl ( Tyto alba ) is found throughout the state of Florida and inhabits hardwood and tropical hammocks, urban areas with abundant palms and large hardwoods, and manmade structures such as silos, barns, and deserted buildings.  Barn owls forage voraciously for rodents in open areas such as prairies, pastures, fields, and sparsely wooded areas. Barn owls in Florida breed from March through July and nest in secluded places like caves, barns, tree cavities, and large bird houses.  They build no actual nest and lay from 3-11 (most commonly 5-7) white or buff-white eggs. Many people attract barn owls by erecting nest boxes in an effort to control local rodent populations The Barred Owl is a medi...

The loveable, slow-moving Gopher Tortoise is famous for digging underground burrows 10 to 35 feet long with "bedrooms" at the ends. The burrows are found in sandy well drained areas through out Florida. In good weather, the tortoise emerges from its burrow to browse on low-growing vegetation, including leaves, grass and wild fruits. Over seventy other kinds of animals have been found using the state protected Gopher Tortoise burrows in various ways. These include burrowing owls, raccoons , opossums , gopher frogs, spiders, insects, cotton rats, indigo snakes, and rattlesnakes . The Florida Box Turtle is an attractive turtle that has been used a a children's pet. It spends most of its time wandering through woods, fields, and gardens, but it will occasionally soak itself in water. A small to medium sized turtle, the Florida Box Turtle is one of the well known subspecies of eastern box turtle. In both appe...

Florida has a longer coastline facing the Gulf of Mexico than the Atlantic Ocean. With 580 miles along the Atlantic Ocean and 770 miles along the Gulf of Mexico the state of Florida has a total of 1,350 miles of coastline! Florida is a water wonderland with it's pristine rivers and lakes, the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic Ocean coastline, and it's mixtures of  brackish backwaters. As you may know, Florida has some of the best beaches in the world. No matter where you are in Florida, there is a beach just a short drive away. The waters from Fort Myers through Pine Island Sound and Charlotte Harbor have to be one of the most diverse boating and fishing locations anywhere in the world. Pine Island Sound is bounded on the west by Sanibel , Captiva and North Captiva Islands. Hundreds of islands dot the Sound; redfish, snook, pompano and speckled trout delight the patient angler. To the east, Pine Island's mangrove sho...

The  Canaveral National Seashore and the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge are located midway on Florida’s east coast between Daytona Beach and Melbourne. The history of Merritt Island extends from prehistoric times to the space age! Inhabited by Indians since about 7000 B.C., the island in recent years has rocketed to the site of Cape Canaveral, with which the refuge and seashore share a border. The National Park Service protects ten National Seashores in the United States. Canaveral National Seashore is a step into the past, protection for the present, and a doorway into the future. The 100 Timucuan Mounds that are within it's boundaries are evidence of past generations of people that lived here. Canaveral National Seashore covers 57,000 acres and  the 24 mile stretch of undeveloped beach  is the longest stretch  on Florida's east coast. Fourteen endangered species make their home within Canaveral's boundari...