FLORIDA WILDLIFE HABITATS

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FLORIDA WILDLIFE HABITATS

• A guide to establishing and certifying your
  habitat

Florida Wildlife Federation
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Welcome to the World of Wildlife Habitats
The Florida Wildlife Federation, working with the
National Wildlife Federation, offers this
expanded education and certification program to
help you plan and certify your habitat. The goal
is to promote gardening in Florida that will help
support native animals that are losing their
living spaces to Floridas rapidly expanding
development. The program was launched in 1973, an
d has certified the habitats of more than 110,000
sites in the U. S., which includes more than
3000 school sites. Florida has passed the 6000
certified habitat mark, making our state first in
the nation. We have made this power point present
ation to help you plan and plant your habitat.
It will also appear on our website,
www.fwfonline.org. We have included materials
that will be of interest to you as you work at
establishing your habitat using materials with a
special Florida flavor. We have included
information about the certification application
so you can familiarize yourself with what you
will need to do to achieve that goal. Florida
Wildlife Federation does not perform the
certification. Certification must be done
through National Wildlife Federation. A printed
National Wildlife Federation certification
application is available at our Tallahassee
offices. Simply call [phone] or e-mail
patricia_at_fwfonline.org and request that we mail
you an application. You can also be certified
electronically directly from National Wildlife
Federation, using the link that you will find on
the first page of the habitat section on our
website, and you can download an application to
fill out by hand and mail in from that site.
We wish you the best of luck and enjoyment with
constructing your habitat. We are here at the
above telephone number and e-mail address to help
you with advice or problems. Happy Gardening!

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THE BASICS

• 1. Grow plants that provide wildlife with a
  natural food source such as nuts, berries or
  nectar, or offer supplemental feeders.
  
• 2. Provide water for wildlife with a birdbath,
  small pond, or shallow dish.
  
• 3. Offer protective cover for wildlife by
  providing a ground cover, a hollow log or rock
  piles, dense shrubs or a roosting box.
  
• 4. Provide places for wildlife to raise young
  such as a water garden, a pond or a nesting box.
  
• 5. Practice sustainable gardening by mulching,
  composting or by reducing your lawn area.

Please watch what you plant in your garden.
Species not native to your region can become
invasive and harmful to both people and wildlife.
This page adapted from a National Wildlife
Federation publication.
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PREVIEW OF APPLICATION QUESTIONS

• The questions you will be asked on the National
  Wildlife Federation Wildlife Habitat
  Certification Application form have check-off
  spaces, and are generally as follows
• 1. Your name, e-mail address (if
  applicable) phone number, address and general
  description of the habitat property.
  
• Type of wildlife habitat supports (insect, bird,
  mammal, etc.)
  
• What kind of food you supply (seeds and berries,
  meadow grasses or leaves, and/or types of
  feeders, etc.) (3 are required)
  
• How do you supply water (birdbath, pond, stream,
  etc.) (2 are required)
  
• How do you supply places to raise young (trees,
  meadows, nesting boxes, etc.) (2 are required)
  
• A list of the kinds of plants you have (trees,
  vines, evergreens, meadow grasses, etc.)
  
• Sustainable gardening practices you maintain
  (reduction in lawn area and erosion, mulching,
  elimination of pesticide use, a rain garden,
  etc.) (2 are required)

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WHY NATIVE PLANTSandWHY NOT EXOTIC PLANTS?

• Native plants often have fewer pest and disease
  problems than lawns and exotic (non-native)
  plants. Because natives are also adapted to local
  temperature and rainfall patterns, they require
  less watering and fertilizing to maintain sound
  health. Native plants provide better nutritional
  requirements for native animals, and are the
  basis for delicately balanced food webs.
• Selecting native plants for landscaping is
  ecologically responsible. In Florida, about 900
  exotic plants have been added to the choices of
  plants used to beautify areas. Of these, about
  400 plants have already invaded natural areas
  where they aggressively compete with Florida
  natives.
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• Several of the most aggressive plants have
  drastically changed the Florida landscape both
  ecologically and visually.
  
• In North Florida, the most aggressive
  non-native is the kudzu vine, Pueraria labata.
  Kudzu vine can turn a small pine forest into a
  green nightmare in just a few years. There is
  nothing left there for native wildlife. The vine
  has created a desert for them.
  
• Melaleuca quinquenervia was purposely
  introduced into South Florida as a landscape tree
  early in the 20th century to stop soil erosion.
  Unfortunately, it also destroys habitat and
  wildlife.

INVASIVE EXOTICS ARE VISITORS THAT NEVER LEAVE!
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FLORIDAS TOP 10 UNDESIRABLE PLANTS
1. Brazilian Pepper Once sold as a landscape orn
amental, it now infests more than 700,000 acres
in central and south Florida. 2. Australian Mela
leuca Tree Introduced to south Florida in 1906 an
d planted as windbreaks, it has invaded 1.5
million acres and is taking over an additional 50
acres every day, It produces little of use to
wildlife. 3. Skunk Vine A pernicious, pesky, sm
elly plant now in 18 counties. It smothers
underbrush and strangles trees.
4. Tropical Soda Apple Covers 500,000 acres of F
lorida pastures, roadsides, ditch banks,
cultivated and natural areas.
5. Cogon Grass Found in sandhills, flatwoods, gr
asslands, swamps and river margins throughout the
state. Its rough edges will slice the skin.
Cogon grass produces chemicals that inhibit
growth of other plants. 6. Australian Pine Grow
s in pinelands, sandy shores and dunes, where its
dense shade and chemicals from leaf litter
displace native vegetation. Sea turtles become
entangled and trapped in the trees exposed
roots. 7. Water Hyacinth and Hydrilla Hydrilla
has invaded about 40 percent of the states
rivers and lakes. Florida DEP estimates it will
spend 100 million in a decade to control
hydrilla and water hyacinth.
8. Chinese Tallow Sometimes called the popcorn t
ree, it first arrived in Florida in the late
1700s. Ben Franklin was a fan. It thrives in
undisturbed areas such as canopy forests,
bottomland hardwood forests, lake shores and
floating islands. 9. Air Potato Climbs high int
o tree canopies and engulfs surrounding
vegetation 10. Kudzu Introduced in Florida in t
he 1920s, it infests 7 million acres throughout
the southeastern United States. Kudzu forms a
dense thicket of little use to wildlife and
crowds out other plants, disrupting the ecosystem.
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Bird Feeding Do and Dont

• Do keep your feeders clean, dump all old seed
  and hulls before refilling them. Disinfect with
  
  
• ¼ cup of bleach to 2 gallons of warm water every
  few weeks. Rinse and allow to air dry
  
• before refilling.
• Do move your feeding station when the ground
  beneath it becomes covered with seed hulls
  
• and droppings. Rake the old site to remove hulls
  and to give the grass a chance to recover.
  
• Dont use grease, oils or petroleum jelly, or
  similar substances to thwart ants, squirrels,
  
• or other feeder-raiding creatures. If these
  substances come in contact with bird feathers
  
• they are impossible for the bird to preen or wash
  out. Gooey feathers can become
  
• useless for flight or insulation. Baffles and
  ant guards are available in many stores.
  
• Dont put out any more seed than can be eaten by
  nightfall. Dont allow seed to become
  
• and stay wet. In rainy weather, feed only from
  covered feeders that will keep seed dry,
  
• or put out only a handful of seed at a time on
  platforms.
  
• Do, if you see a sick or dead bird at your
  feeder, halt your feeding for a few weeks to
  allow
  
• the healthy birds to disperse. This lessens the
  possibility of disease transmission.
  

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Attracting Hummingbirds
Tiny, shiny hummingbirds can be a wonderful
addition to your habitat. If hummingbirds live in
your area, you can attract them by planting red,
tubular flowers, and there are many flowers of
that description to choose from. Many North
American plants are pollinated exclusively by
hummingbirds. Check with your local nursery for
the best native plants for attracting
hummingbirds in your area. Hummingbird feeders ar
e an excellent way to supplement the birds diet
when flowers arent blooming, and to arrange to
have them feeding in a spot easy for you to view
them. Fill feeders with a boiled solution of four
parts of water to one part of white, refined
sugar or a commercial nectar mix.
Do not use honey solutions in feeders, as this
may produce a fungal disease fatal to the birds.
Feeders should be washed every 3 to 5 days using
a mild detergent solution and a brush, rinsed
well, and allowed to air dry before refilling.
The Cuban bee hummingbird is the smallest bird in
the world, 2 ½ inches long, about the size of a
bumblebee. Hummingbirds can hover like a helicopt
er, or move forward, sideways or backward.
A ruby-throated hummingbird, weighing about 1/10
of an ounce, can migrate 600 miles.
Hummingbirds not only sip nectar, but also eat
tiny insects and spiders, and may drink up to 8
times their body weight in water every day.
Hummingbirds body temperature is about 103
degrees F in the daytime, it may drop to 70
degrees F at night. They can endure temporary
cool weather or cool nights by becoming dormant.
The 340 species of hummingbirds are found only in
the western hemisphere. Hummingbird wing beats ha
ve been measured at 20 200 beats per second.
The ruby-throated hummingbird is our most common
hummer.
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Attracting Butterflies

• Resident butterfly populations in your yard
  require both larval and nectar (adult) foods.
  
• Different kinds of butterflies require different
  plantings of shrubs on which to lay eggs, which
  will develop into caterpillars and feed on the
  leaves of their host shrub. Therefore, plant
  those shrubs in a less visible area, as the
  caterpillars will eat the leaves and cause the
  shrubs to look less attractive. Nectar flowers
  for adult food can be placed where they can be
  easily seen and enjoyed.
• Do not use pesticides or herbicides in or near
  the butterfly garden.
  
• Flower colors that attract butterflies include
  orange, yellow, pink, purple and red.
  Deep-throated, drooping, or enclosed flowers are
  unsuitable for nectar-gathering. Wildflowers are
  great for attracting butterflies, though many
  hybridized flowers fail to attract. White
  flowers, and those emitting their fragrances at
  night, usually attract moths.

Nectar Plants for Butterflies
Trees Bottlebrush Citrus Wild Lime Buckeye Sh
rubs Azalea Butterfly Bush Fetterbush New Jers
ey Tea
VinesV
Vines, ground covers, and herbs
Asters Thistle Clover Spanish Needle Coreopsis
Yarrow Daisy Groundsel Grasses Gerardia Hon
eysuckle Sedums Lantana Liatris Phlox Queen A
nnes Lace Red Root
Bedding Plants Calendula Impatiens Marigold (si
ngle) Petunia Sunflower Verbena Zinnia (single
)
Penta Scabiosa
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Butterfly larval food plants

• Butterfly Plant
  needed for larvae and caterpillar
  
• Atala coontie (Zamia floridana)
• Buckeye plantain (plantago spp.), snapdragon
  (Antirrhinum spp), Ludwigia spp, sedums
  
• Pearly Crescent asters (esp. native spp.),
  crownbeard (Verbesina occidentalis)
  
• Dogface clover (Trifolium spp.), leadplant
  (Amorta fruticosa)
  
• Gulf Frittilary passion vine (Passiflora
  incarnata)
  
• Florida leafwing croton (Croton llinearus)
• Goatweed butterfly croton (C. capitatum and C.
  monanthogynus))
  
• Julia passion vines (Passiflora spp.)
• Monarch milkweeds (Asclepias spp.) Note check
  with your county Extension Office for species
  
• Mourning Cloak elms (Ulmus spp.), willow (Salix
  spp.), hackberry (Celtis spp.)
  
• Painted Lady thistles (Circium spp.), many
  composits (Asteracea), mallows (Malvaciae)
  
• Queen milkweeds (Asclepias spp.) Note check
  with your county Extension Office for species
  
• Red Admiral nettles (Urtica spp.), false nettle
  (Boehmaria cylindrica)
  
• Red-spotted Purple willows (Salix spp.), scrub
  oaks (Quercus spp.)
  
• Long-tailed skipper legumes (Fabaceae), crucifers
  (Brassicaceae)
  
• Orange-barred sulphur cassias (Cassia spp.)
• Common sulphur legumes (Fabaceae)
• Black swallowtail carrots, parsley, dill, Queen
  Annes Lace (Umbelliferae)
  

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Reduce your lawn
A gas mower pollutes as much in an hour as a car
does driving for 350 miles. 30 to 60 of the pota
ble water supply in the U.S. is used for
maintaining lawns. 67 million pounds of synthetic
pesticides are used on U.S. lawns annually.
Lawn monocultures offer little habitat value for
wildlife.
FIVE GOOD REASONS TO REDUCE YOUR LAWN
Save time and money that you would normally spend
on mowing and fertilizing. Increase your homes e
nergy efficiency. Attract and provide for wildlif
e visitors. Conserve water Reduce mower pollutio
n and decrease run-off from fertilizers and
pesticides. Adapted from a National Wildli
fe Federation publication.
PLEASE! DO NOT USE CYPRESS MULCH.
The commercial trade in cypress mulch is
depleting and endangering Floridas beautiful and
unique Cypress Trees. These trees are not being
grown and harvested in a sustainable manner.
If you prefer a wood-chip mulch, look for
Melaleuca mulch, which is made from one of the
most invasive trees in Florida.
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PowerPoint Presentation created byPatricia L.
PearsonFlorida Wildlife FederationPO Box
6870Tallahassee, FL 32314-6870

• All photos in this presentation are from NWF
  certified habitats in Florida
  
• All line drawings in this presentation are used
  with permission, or are in the public domain
  
• Any pages or information from this presentation
  may be shown or copied, as long as Florida
  Wildlife Federation is credited.