It seems overnight our yards and woods have come to life with the flitting of the Northern Cardinals, but the truth be told, they have been here all year! This eye-catching songbirds are abundant in the southeast. According to the North American Breeding Bird Survey their numbers continue to increase 0.32% per year since 1966, with an estimated 130 million global breeding population.
Adult Male Cardinal, Photo Sourced from Canva Pro.
History
The Northern Cardinal is not new to the bird scene. With the males sporting vibrant red plumage they caught the eye of founding colonists. In seeing they had similar red colors to the biretta and robes of the Catholic cardinals the early settlers gave them their name—The Cardinal.
Identification
While the males are the noticeable bright red color, the females are a light brown bird with a reddish crest, wing, and tail. These non-migratory birds can be seen year-round in the Southwest, Midwest and Eastern parts of the U.S.
Female Adult Cardinal, Photo Sourced from Canva Pro.
Habitat
Living in dense shrubby areas, along wood lines and in regrowth the North Cardinal enjoys hopping through low branches and forage along the ground. They commonly sing and preen on higher branches. Interesting most female songbirds do not sing, but female Cardinal does. They are granivorous animals, meaning they mainly consume seeds, nuts, shells, and hulls, but they also enjoy some fruits and grasses.
Reproduction
Cardinals are monogamous birds, however nearly 20% of the pairs will split up by the next season and being searching for a new mate. Early spring marks the kick-off to mating season and it lasts into September, with each mating pair having one or two broods a year. After mating in the spring, the female can lay eggs continuously over the course of the season with the sperm being available in the female’s chambers for an extended period. Typically, the clutch size is between 2-5 eggs and are incubated 11-13 days before the 7-13 day nestling period after which the chicks are ready to leave the nest as fledglings. They will come and go from the nest for the next two weeks, before leaving for good. The adolescent birds will then stay with their parents (but not in the nest) for the next 40 days before they leave to find their own territories.
As we make our way into spring take time to enjoy the Northern Cardinals that have likely been your neighbors all year.
One of the programs I do with Florida Sea Grant is Restoring a Healthy Estuary. There are four focus areas within this program: improving water quality, restoring habitat, managing invasive species, and enhancing wildlife. For those who know me, they know that enhancing wildlife is near and dear to me. My major in college was vertebrate zoology and I have been monitoring and teaching about vertebrates for 40 years.
I have found that the articles I write on this topic are my most popular, particularly snakes. And I get that. Whether you love them or hate them, snakes are interesting to read about. As we roll into 2024, I thought I would do a series of articles on vertebrates I encounter as I conduct hikes/surveys on our barrier islands. From a biogeographic view, barrier islands are interesting in understanding first, how some of the animals reached the island, and second, how they survive in a sandy/dry environment that is in many ways similar to deserts.
The white quartz sand beaches of the barrier island in the northern Gulf of Mexico.
Photo: Molly O’Connor
My first hike was just after the new year on the western end of Santa Rosa Island. Wintertime is cold and the ectothermic vertebrates (amphibians and reptiles) are hard to find, most going dormant this time of year. But, on sunny days when the wind is low, they can find places where they bask and stay warm. If you encounter them, they will most likely not move quickly (they are still cold) and this provides a better opportunity to view them, though their coloration is very cryptic with the environment and, with little motion, you may miss them. For the endothermic vertebrates (birds and mammals) this is their time.
On this warmer sunny January day, we spent several hours out. There was not much movement other than a variety of songbirds. Then we heard rustling in the woods under some live oak trees – it was an armadillo.
The common nine banded armadillo scurrying across the lawn.
Photo: Les Harrison
Many of us have encountered this interesting mammal. You may not have recognized it as mammal, but it is. As a lifelong resident of Pensacola, I know that prior to Hurricane Ivan there were fewer armadillos on Pensacola Beach. They were there but in low numbers. What was common at that time were striped skunks. Since Ivan I have not seen a skunk. I have asked park rangers at the Gulf Island National Seashore, and they have not seen them either. But the number of armadillos immediately increased. It seems the skunk left a niche open, and this animal took it. Some say the armadillo may have increased in population whether the skunks were there or not – that is just armadillos. So, who is this “new kid on the block” that has become so common on our islands?
Armadillos are native to central and south America. They are a smaller mammal in the Order Cingulata and related to anteaters and sloths. Mammals are divided into orders based on their dental formula (what type, and how many teeth they have). In this sense armadillos are unique. They have around 30 peg like teeth which they use to feed on insects, their larva, arachnids, snails, small vertebrates, and eggs – though reports of them raiding shorebird nests are rare. They do eat cockroaches, which many people appreciate. They acquire their food by digging into loose soil with their large claws. This is one reason they do so well on our beaches and why many homeowners dislike them – they can destroy a yard to find prey. Though they have poor eye site and hearing, which is noticeable when you encounter one, they have an excellent sense of smell.
Armadillos move relatively slowly seeking prey but when disturbed they can run quickly and swim well. They dig round burrows, which I have found many on Santa Rosa Island. Because they often share habitats with gopher tortoises, the burrows are often confused. Armadillo burrows differ in that they are completely round. With gopher tortoises the entrance is usually flat across the bottom and dome shaped across the top. Armadillos usually spend the daytime in these burrows, foraging at night with more activity near dawn and dusk (crepuscular).
One secret to their success is their reproductive rate. They breed in summer but hold off development of the embryo to allow a late winter birth. They only have one litter each year but is almost always four identical young of the same sex. This is because they develop from the same fertilized egg.
Diseases and parasites in armadillos are few compared to native mammals, rabies has not been documented. Leprosy has been documented in armadillos in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, but there have been no reports of infected ones in Florida.
The dispersal of armadillos from central to north America most likely occurred crossing the isthmus in Panama. But there are reports of the animals being released in eastern Florida beginning in the 1920s. It was noted that they were able to cross the Mississippi River in the 1920s when people began to build bridges for this new thing called the automobile. Eventually the Florida and Texas populations merged. They are dispersing north towards the Ohio Valley but are not fans of cold weather and this has been a barrier for further dispersal north. We will see what climate change will do to their range. They most likely reached our barrier islands by crossing bridges, though there are locations where the Intracoastal Waterway is narrow enough, and dredge spoil island frequent enough, they could have swam/island hoped their way over. Either way they are here.
Many dislike this creature and would like to see them gone. Some consider it an invasive species and needs to be managed. Others find them cool and enjoy seeing them. It was the only non-bird creature moving that day, despite the warmer weather, we will see what the next hike/survey will bring.
For many of us in the Florida Panhandle, managing land for and hunting deer are two of the pastimes that we’ll spend the most time and money on each year. I greatly enjoy spending time in the woods and value the opportunity to fill the freezer with high-quality protein and occasionally hang a trophy rack on the wall. Managing a deer herd isn’t without its annoyances though. One of the main complaints I hear each winter from hunters is regarding their food plots not performing as well as they’d like. While all manner of things could be at fault, there are three common reasons for poor food plot performance and a few possible solutions to each – let’s take a look.
Not doing your soil homework. Crops of all kinds, winter food plot forages like small grains, clovers, and ryegrass included, perform best when their pH and nutrition needs are met. The only way to ensure that your food plot plants’ needs are being met is to perform a soil test well before planting. Soil tests show the actual levels of various nutrients (N, P, K, and other essential elements) and pH in your food plots. It is important to remember that even if your soil fertility is adequate or you plan to get it there through fertilizer applications, those nutrients are only available for plants to uptake if your pH is correct (a pH of around 6.5 is ideal for winter grasses and legumes). If your pH is low and needs adjusting, make sure to apply lime several months in advance as it takes time to change your soil’s chemistry.
Too small food plot size. Just like with grazing a cattle pasture, there is a finite amount of grazing pressure that food plots can support and many that I see are overgrazed. So, what can hunters do? If possible, the best solution is to enlarge small food plots to a minimum of ½ acre, preferably larger (1-5 acres). It’s not complicated – the plants we grow in winter wildlife food plots (small grains, ryegrass, clovers, etc.) are extremely palatable to deer and very nutritious. Combine that with greatly reduced native forage options in Panhandle winters, and a quality food plot will often draw large numbers of deer, in excess of what small food plots can bear. To be certain deer pressure is the issue and not poor growing practices, construct exclusionary cages for your food plots; these will allow you to see how your forages grow in the absence of grazing pressure. You might be surprised how good your grass looks with no deer on it and be motivated to increase food plot size accordingly.
Not harvesting enough deer. Even when hunters do all the above correctly, forage performance sometimes lags. This can be a strong indication that too many deer are using the food plot. Stocking rates for deer are difficult to determine because there are many variables involved (native vegetation in your area, hunting pressure around you, etc.). However, if exclusionary cages show quality forage growth, food plots are adequately large, and your forage still struggles, it is likely as simple as too many deer using the forage available. Harvesting only a buck or two a year and no does isn’t going to solve the problem either. In this situation, the solution is often as simple as taking advantage of Florida’s anterless deer harvest periods (doe weekends) to harvest some does, applying for antlerless deer permits if your property meets the qualifications for that program, and filling your freezer with more tasty, nutritious venison.
While there can be many causes for poor winter food plot performance, most hunters can improve their forage situation by simply soil testing and amending accordingly ahead of planting, enlarging food plots where possible, and harvesting a few more deer than they have previously. For more information about winter food plots and any other wildlife management topic, contact your local UF/IFAS Extension office. Happy Hunting!
Mark Twain once said – “Everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it.” A similar statement could be made about the Gulf Sturgeon – “Everyone talks about the Gulf sturgeon, but on one has actually seen one.” Those along the coast who have a dock, pier, seawall, or have placed a marina, artificial reef, or oyster farm over state submerged lands, have certainly heard about this fish. It is a portion of the permit in each case. Heck, maybe they have seen one. But it is a fish that many know about but seems elusive to encounter.
Left-facing Gulf sturgeon illustration. Lighter brown than Atlantic sturgeon. Credit: Jack Hornady for NOAA Fisheries.
The Gulf sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchis desotoi) is one of 27 species of sturgeon found worldwide. It is a subspecies of the Atlantic sturgeon. These are ancient fish, and they look it. Sturgeons are large, reaching lengths of up to eight feet and 300 pounds. They have armored looking scutes embedded into their skin, giving them a “dinosaur” appearance. They have a heterocercal caudal fin that resembles a shark. And like sharks, they have a cartilaginous skeleton and a spiral valve within their digestive tract. Their head has a pointed snout with whisker-like structures called barbels, which are used for detecting food buried in the sand, and they lack teeth. They have been swimming in our oceans since the era of the dinosaurs, about 225 million years.
Sturgeons are anadromous fish, meaning they (like salmon) spend their adult lives in salt water, traveling miles upriver to their location of their birth to lay eggs. The Gulf sturgeon spends the colder months (November through February) inhabiting our bays and the nearshore Gulf of Mexico in waters less than 100 feet. Now is the time when you may encounter one near the coast. Because they eat very little while in the river systems, they gorge on benthic invertebrates during the winter. They spend most of their time over sand flats and sand bars, using their barbels to detect a variety of buried invertebrates. When sturgeon sense warmer months coming, they begin their long migrations up the inland rivers seeking the area where they were born. At this time, they leap from the water like mullet and make splashes that can be heard from a long distance. They are famous for this in the Suwannee River and have, at times, been a concern for boaters and jet skiers. Many boaters have had to go to the hospital due to collisions with leaping sturgeon.
The Gulf Sturgeon.
Photo: U.S. Geological Survey
Once they reach the spawning grounds, if conditions are right – temperature, water flow, and pH – the female will lay between 250,000 – 1,000,000 eggs which will become fertilized by the smaller males. Most eggs will not survive, but for those that do, the cycle will begin again with the trek back towards the Gulf of Mexico beginning in September.
Why are they declining?
Early in the 20th century they were sought after for their meat and fertilized eggs (caviar). Most of the rivers within their range (which is between the Mississippi and Suwannee Rivers) have been damned, dredged, or both. Dams impede their ability to reach their nursery grounds and dredging can reduce the required conditions to stimulate breeding, or literally bury their eggs. Between these human activities, their numbers declined drastically. In 1991 they were listed both as a federally and state threatened species and have been protected and monitored ever since. The best population, and best chance to encounter one, is in the Suwannee River. This river has been left basically pristine and has not had the habitat altering activities of the others. Locally, they are found in the Escambia, Blackwater, and Yellow Rivers.
Winter is the time to see them in the lower parts of our bay. Maybe you will be lucky enough to encounter one.
References
The Gulf Sturgeon. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Despite efforts by public and private land managers, feral hog populations continue to rise in many areas in Florida. Feral hogs damage crop fields, lawns, wetlands, and forests. They can negatively impact native species of plants and animals. Their rooting leads to erosion and decreased water quality. Feral swine can also harbor and infect domestic swine with diseases such as African Swine Fever, foot-and-mouth disease, pseudorabies, swine brucellosis, and others.
USDA APHIS conducts feral swine monitoring for diseases to help safeguard our pork production here in the US. More than 6,000 samples are taken annually to test for diseases of concern. This monitoring effort not only keeps our domestic swine safe but also keeps humans safe from diseases that can infect us. African Swine Fever (ASF) is the main disease of concern right now for the state of Florida, especially those counties bordering the Gulf of Mexico.
ASF is a deadly disease of both feral and domestic hogs. It is not transmitted to humans so it is not a health or food safety concern. It is, however, highly contagious and would likely have a catastrophic effect on our domestic pork industry. Although it has not been found in the US, this disease has recently been detected in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
This concern has led to a new monitoring program in Florida specifically for ASF in counties bordering the Gulf. USDA APHIS will begin trapping wild hogs in these counties in order to monitor populations for ASF. Landowners, both public and private, can benefit from this monitoring program. Professional trappers will be employed to remove wild hogs for this monitoring effort. For more information on this program, contact Buddy Welch, North Florida Assistant District Supervisor, USDA Wildlife Services, ASF Surveillance at edgar.welch@usda.gov.
Sounder of hogs in a corral trap. Photo Credit: Jennifer Bearden
Since last year we have been logging reports from area residents of snake encounters. The purpose of this is education. We are learning which species people most frequently encounter, what time of year different species are encountered, and where they are being encountered. Here is the 2023 3rd Quarter Update.
To date – we have encountered 24 of the 40 species (60%) known to inhabit the Pensacola Bay area.
The most frequently encountered snake has been the cottonmouth. This species has been encountered 45 times. It has been seen every month this year and at the following locations – north and south Escambia County as well as north and south Santa Rosa County.
The cottonmouth.
Photo: Ricky Stackhouse.
The second most frequently encountered snake has been the southern black racer. This species has been encountered 35 times and every month except January. Locations reporting this snake included – north and south Santa Rosa County, as well as north and south Escambia County.
Southern Black Racer.
Photo: Ricky Stackhouse.
The third most frequently encountered snake has been the banded water snake. This species has been encountered 26 times and 25 of those were last winter and spring – the snake was only reported once during the summer and has not been reported this fall. It was encountered from north and south Santa Rosa County as well as north and south Escambia County.
The banded water snake is one of the more commonly encountered water snakes.
Photo: Rick O’Connor
Reports by snake groups…
Small Snakes – 4 of the 7 species (57%) have been encountered. The most common have been the Florida red-bellied snake and the Southern ring-necked snake. These have been reported from north Escambia County, south Escambia County, north Santa Rosa County, Pensacola, Milton, and UWF.
Florida Red-bellied snake.
Photo: James Cutler.
Mid-Sized Snakes – 5 of the 8 species (63%) have been encountered. The most common has been the Eastern garter snake. It has been reported from north Santa Rosa County, south Escambia County, south Santa Rosa County, and north Escambia County.
The eastern garter snake is one of the few who are active during the cold months.
Photo: Molly O’Connor
Large Snakes – 6 of the 7 species (86%) have been encountered. The most common has been the Southern black racer followed by its close cousin the Eastern coachwhip. The only large snake not encountered so far this year has been the Eastern indigo snake, which is a threatened species and encounters in the wild have not been documented since the late 1990s. Coachwhip encounters have occurred from south Escambia County, north Santa Rosa County, and south Santa Rosa County.
Eastern Coachwhips are long and thin, and most adults have a dark head and upper body. The rest of the body is tan or brown and the scale pattern on the tail resembles a braided bullwhip. Photo by Nancy West.The eastern indigo snake is the largest nonvenomous snake in the southeast.
Photo: Molly O’Connor
Water Snakes – 4 of the 13 species (31%) have been encountered. The most common has been the Banded water snake followed by the Brown water snake. The Brown water snake has been encountered on the Choctawhatchee River, Perdido River, Blackwater River, Escambia River, and south Escambia County.
Venomous Snakes – all 4 venomous species in our area have been encountered (100%). The most common has been the Cottonmouth followed by the Eastern diamondback rattlesnake. The diamondback has been encountered from south Escambia County, north Santa Rosa County, and south Santa Rosa County. With high interest in venomous snakes, the other encounters include the Dusky pygmy rattlesnake, which has been encountered from south Escambia County, and north Santa Rosa County. The Eastern coral snake has only been encountered once and that was from south Santa Rosa County.
Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake.
Photo: Bob Pitts. Dusky pygmy rattlesnake.
Photo: Jessica Bickell. Eastern coral snake.
Photo: Joe Burgess.
Rare Encounters – those that have only been encountered once this year…
Rough earth snake was encountered during September from south Escambia County.
Rough green snake was encountered during August from north Santa Rosa.
Eastern hognose was encountered during July from north Santa Rosa.
Eastern kingsnake was encountered in February from north Escambia County.
Eastern coral snake was encountered in June from south Santa Rosa County.
Florida pine snake was encountered during the winter and spring from north Santa Rosa County.
