Tag: Florida

The content below has been tagged with the term “Florida.”

Infographic

Hurricane Irma

This infographic shows the eye of Hurricane Irma and details the Southeast Region response. The Service sent out teams with fuel, water, food and chainsaws to make sure that employees were safe, to inspect homes and buildings, to clear roads and to find staging areas for equipment. Hurricane Irma impacted 45 national wildlife refuges, three national fish hatcheries, two ecological services field stations, two fish and wildlife conservation offices and three law enforcement offices in the Caribbean and Southeast U. Learn more...
Hurricane Irma and sea turtles

This infographic discusses the impact of hurricanes in Florida during sea turtle nesting season, and asks that you never touch any exposed eggs or disturbed nests. Although nearly 90 percent of sea turtle nesting in the United States occurs in Florida in March through October, a major hurricane there during this period doesn’t mean all is lost. Mother sea turtles “hedge their bets” by depositing eggs in several nests over the course of the season, so there is a high probability that at least a few of the nests will incubate successfully even if a serious storm hits. Learn more...

State

Sunrise at Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge. Photo: Josh O’Connor, USFWS.

Conservation in Florida

Florida sunset. Photo: Paul Lang, USFWS. Florida is a state rich in a natural diversity of plants, animals and ecosystems. Encompassing nearly 66,000 square miles, this state is home to a tremendous diversity of species that live in varied land and water habitats. In the hardwood hammocks near Key West, you might see the endangered Stock Island tree snail. In the surf at Fernandina, you could find three species of sea turtles that we protect, and in the dunes at Perdido Key, you could spot the burrows of Perdido Key beach mice. Learn more...

Wildlife

Canvasback. Photo by Clayton Ferrell, USFWS.

Canvasback

Canvasback is the largest species of diving duck in North America and is highly recognizable due to the male’s stark white body, contrasting with a deep maroon head and neck. This species has been nicknamed “bull-neck,” and referred to as the aristocrat of ducks. Because of its diving feeding style, it spends most of its time using moderately deep-water marshes and lakes where it roots in the sediment searching for its favorite food, plant tubers from submersed aquatic vegetation. Visit the species profile...
Eastern black rail. Photo © Tom Johnson, used with permission, The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Eastern black rail

Black rails are the smallest rails in North America. One of four recognized subspecies of black rail, the eastern black rail is perhaps the most secretive. This small inhabitant of shallow salt and freshwater marshes is rarely seen and has a distinctive “kick-ee-doo” call that is often heard at night. Visit the species profile...
A Florida panther. Photo by Larry W. Richardson, USFWS.

Florida panther

The Florida panther is a subspecies of Puma concolor (also known as mountain lion, cougar, or puma) and represents the only known breeding population of puma in the eastern United States. It is protected as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Visit the species profile...
A pair of gadwalls. Photo by Stacey Hayden, USFWS.

Gadwall

Sometimes known affectionately as the “gray duck” by hunters, gadwall are medium-sized dabbling ducks common across temperate areas worldwide. As their nickname indicates, both males and females have gray-brown to gray plumage that is less flashy than many other species. Conservation status Low concern. Related content Nov 12, 2018 | 2 minute read News Hunting season opens with a bang on Merritt Island Refuge Range Gadwall primarily nest in the Prairie Pothole Region of the north-central United States and Canada and, to a lesser extent, in southern portions of the boreal forest and prairie parklands. Visit the species profile...
Gulf Coast solitary bee. Photo by Center for Biological Diversity.

Gulf Coast solitary bee

The Gulf Coast solitary bee is a rare inhabitant of the sandy barrier islands and landward dunes along the Gulf of Mexico extending from Horn Island, Mississippi eastward to St. Andrew’s Bay in northwest Florida. Visit the species profile...
Lesser scaup. Photo by Heath Hagy, USFWS.

Lesser scaup

The lesser scaup is a medium-bodied diving duck, meaning they feed by diving under the surface of deep water to find their food. Males have a dark emerald to black head and a mostly gray to white body. Females are mostly brown on their body and have a dark brown head with a white patch at the base of the bill. Scaup have evolved a bill structure perfect for catching invertebrates swimming in the water column. Visit the species profile...
MacGillivray’s seaside sparrow (Ammodramus maritimus macgillivraii), Georgetown County, South Carolina, April 2015; Photo by Yianni Laskaris, Coastal Carolina University.

Macgillivray’s seaside sparrow

One of seven remaining seaside sparrow subspecies, the MacGillivray’s seaside sparrow is known from the coastal marshes of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Visit the species profile...