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Tag: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Florida Fauna & Flora – Red Snapper

Florida Fauna & Flora: Red Snapper

 

Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced that Florida’s 2022 recreational red snapper season opened June 17 and runs consecutively through July 31. Visit myfwc.com for upcoming fall dates.

 

Red snapper in deeper waters tend to be redder than those caught in shallower waters. They have a long triangular face with the upper part sloping more strongly than the lower and earned the name snapper from their enlarged canine teeth. 

 

Age wise, red snapper can live a long time—red snapper as old as 57 years have been reported in the Gulf of Mexico and can grow to 40 inches long and 50 pounds. Females are able to reproduce as early as age 2. Males and females spawn from May to October, depending on their location.

 

Red snapper feed on fish, shrimp, crab, worms, cephalopods (octopus or squid) and some plankton. Young red snapper are food for the large carnivorous fish that share their habitat, such as jacks, groupers, sharks, barracudas, and morays.

 

These fish are generally found at 30 to 620 feet deep in the Gulf of Mexico and along the eastern coasts of North America, Central America, and northern South America. They are rare north of the Carolinas.

 

Read the full July 2022 SECO News online.

 

Florida Fauna & Flora – The Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail

 

Florida Fauna & Flora – The Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail

 

Are you looking for an outdoor adventure? Take a hike on The Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail to observe native Florida animals, birds, butterflies and trees. There are 510 designated sites in the panhandle, east, west and south Florida.

 

In our local area, you’ll find sites in both the east and west. In Citrus County make a visit to the Crystal River Preserve State Park, Flying Eagle Preserve and Withlacoochee State Forest. In Lake County, look for the Emeralda Marsh Conservation Area, Lake Louisa State Park and the Seminole State Forest. In Marion County enjoy the Ocala National Forest Salt Springs, Rainbow Springs State Park and World-Famous Silver Springs State Park. In Sumter County you’ll find the Lake Panasoffkee Wildlife Management Area and the Marsh Bend “Outlet” Park.

 

The Florida Department of Transportation and the Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida support the Trail. The program is overseen by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

 

Fun Fauna Fact: Millions visit The Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail every year. Its economic impact is over $1 billion for the state, but the Trail’s goal is to encourage conservation of our native habitats and species.

 

Source: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

 

Read the full January 2022 SECO News online.

 

Florida Fauna & Flora – Red Fox

 

Florida Fauna & Flora – Red Fox

 

Red foxes are the size of a small dog and weigh 10 to 15 pounds. Not including their long, bushy tails, they measure about 2 feet long. Red foxes have red hair that varies from rust-colored to golden-red, white bellies, black ear tips and legs. Their hairy, red, bushy tails usually have a white tip.

 

This fox is primarily nocturnal, but you may find it feeding during the day. It is most active at dawn and dusk. Its diet includes rabbits, mice and rats. It may kill more than it can eat and bury the extra for a later meal.

 

Red fox pairs usually mate for life. Breeding takes place in late fall or winter, with gestation lasting 53 days. An average of 5 blind, helpless pups are born per litter that nurse for 2 months and live and learn from adults for about 6 months.

 

Red foxes are a naturalized but not native Florida animal. A naturalized animal has moved into an area and adapted, created a stable or expanding population, and does not require aid for survival or reproduction.

 

Fun Fauna Fact: Gray foxes are often confused with red foxes because much of their hair is red. Red foxes are found in fields and weedy pastures, while gray foxes are more often found in heavily wooded areas.

 

Source: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

 

Read the full November 2021 SECO News online.

Florida Fauna & Flora – Sailfish

 

Florida Fauna & Flora – Sailfish

 

One of the most popular game fish in Florida is the sailfish – which is also the official state saltwater fish. Sailfish are known for the large, blue first dorsal fin that looks similar to a sail. It has a long, thin spear-like upper jaw. The upper part of the fish is blue-black with brownish sides and a white or silver underbelly.

 

Sailfish grow up to 11 feet and can weigh as much as 220 pounds. They grow quickly and feed voraciously on squid and smaller fish. In the summer, sailfish move closer to the southeastern Florida shores to spawn in shallow waters. Sailfish may swim alone or in small groups.

 

If you hook a sailfish, be ready for an acrobatic fight while it tries to escape. These fish are powerful, and they will jump and shake their heads to remove a hook. Look for schools of squid, mullet, pinfish, blue runners and scad that attract sailfish. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recommends reviving and releasing sailfish.

 

Fun Fauna Fact: In one year, a sailfish will grow to 4 – 5 feet. The state record sailfish weighed in at 126 pounds.

 

Source: The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

 

Read the full June 2021 SECO News online.

Florida Fauna & Flora – Cane Toad

 

Florida Fauna & Flora – Cane Toad

 

Cane toads are native species from South America to southern Texas. The toads were introduced to Florida and have flourished as an invasive species. Also called a bufo, giant or marine toad, its body is reddish brown, dark brown, or gray. Some are uniform in color or could have darker markings.

 

Cane toads do not have ridges across their heads as seen on native southern toads. Cane toads are also much larger than native southern toads. They grow as large as nine inches, while southern toads grow to four inches.

 

Toads and frogs are often praised for their effective pest control abilities, but cane toads can be toxic or deadly to pets. They have enlarged glands behind their eyes which secrete bufotoxin as a form of defense against predators. Cane toad tadpoles are also poisonous if ingested.

 

Do not handle these toads without gloves and eye protection. Call ASPCA Pet Poison Control at (888) 426-4435 or your veterinarian if you suspect your pet has come in contact with a cane toad or tadpole.

 

Fun Fauna Fact: Cane toads were brought to Florida to control pests in sugar can crops in the 1930s and 40s. Escaped toads and the pet trade in the 50s and 60s are likely responsible for today’s large population.

 

Source: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

 

Read the full March 2021 SECO News online.

Nature’s Reflections – Florida Osprey

The Fish Eagle – Master of the Catch

 

The osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Florida’s fish eagle, gets its name from the Latin word for sea eagle. These eagle-like birds of prey catch fish with impeccable precision and finesse. Measuring 21 to 24 inches in length, ospreys have long, pointed wings spanning six feet. The head, throat and undersides are white; the back, nape, tail and back of the head are dark brown with a black stripe located behind the eye. Ospreys have a conspicuous crook in the wing and a black “wrist” mark in flight which differentiates it from the Bald Eagle. Its usual call is a loud, whistle: chewk-chewk-chewk.

 

Found throughout the world except in polar regions, northern ospreys migrate to warmer climates. A year-round Florida resident, ospreys are often sighted near large lakes and rivers.

 

Feeding almost exclusively on fish, ospreys capture a meal by nose diving into the water. Its feet are built to grasp and hold fish. Ospreys’ reversible outer toe can rotate and extend to the foot’s rear to grasp its prey with two front toes and two back toes by plunging its strong, hooked claws to grip either side of its prey.

 

Osprey pairs breed at three years, and build a bulky nest of collected sticks and debris including seaweed, bones, driftwood, corn stalks and trash. It is a little smaller than a Bald Eagle’s nest. Ospreys have a fondness for high trees, towers and utility poles near the water’s edge and usually not far from where it was born.

 

Both parents incubate the clutch of two to three white, buff/pink eggs for 35 days. The young fledge at eight to ten weeks.

 

Ospreys are not neat carpenters; the large nests often appear on SECO pole crossarms. Nests, debris and often ospreys come in contact with electric lines resulting in power outages and possibly the bird’s death. During rain, or when nest material is wet, the damp material conducts electricity to the nest site.

 

Strictly following the requirements and limitations of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, SECO exercises extreme care to protect these birds and their offspring by installing fiberglass nesting dishes to keep ospreys’ stick-built homes away from power lines in heavily osprey populated areas.

 

By placing the birds and nests out of harm’s way, SECO aids the survival of a protected species and helps prevent unexpected disruptions to your electric service. Ospreys enjoy having this secure nest and members enjoy watching the birds raise their families.

 

Installing nesting dishes near active osprey breeding sites is one of several initiatives to help protect our environment and the creatures that live within it.

 

Visit SECO’s YouTube channel to see osprey nest protection in action at the Dead River in Tavares.

 

Column & photos by Sandi Staton – sandi.staton@gmail.com

 

Read the full Nature’s Reflections article in the May 2018 SECO News online.