Wild Birds

Wading Birds of Northern Belize (trifold brochure)

Venetia S. Briggs-Gonzalez, Jorge E. Ruano, Justin R. Dalaba and Frank J. Mazzotti

A Beginner's Guide to Water Management—Common Aquatic Birds Using Florida Lakes

Mark V. Hoyer

Checklist of Birds of the Everglades Agricultural Area

Elise V. Pearlstine and Frank J. Mazzotti

Forest Remnants: Conserving and Observing Bird Diversity in Urban Settings

Dan Dawson and Mark Hostetler

Wading Birds of Northern Belize

Venetia S. Briggs-Gonzalez, Jorge E. Ruano, Justin R. Dalaba and Frank J. Mazzotti

A Bird's-Eye View: How Birds Select Habitat

Mark E. Hostetler

Attracting Backyard Birds: Bird Feeder Selection

Emma V. Willcox, Mark E. Hostetler, Martin B. Main, and Maena Voigt

Wildlife in Urban Landscapes: Use of Golf Course Ponds by Wetlands Birds

C. LeAnn White and Martin B. Main

Wildlife of Florida Factsheets: Florida Sandhill Crane

Hannah Fox, Bethany Wight, and Hance Ellington

Learn more about Florida Sandhill Cranes! The Wildlife of Florida Factsheet series was created to provide the public with a quick, accurate introduction to Florida’s wildlife, including both native and invasive species. We hope these fact sheets inspire people to investigate wildlife in their own backyards and communities and understand the amazing biodiversity of wildlife in the state of Florida—in this case, the sandhill crane.

Birds in the ’Burbs: Do migratory birds prefer urban forest fragments or residential yards?

Ryan Buron, Mark Hostetler, and Michael Andreu

During migration, birds travel from their northern breeding grounds to their southern wintering grounds and vice versa. To understand which urban habitats are valuable for specific migratory species, we compared the diversity of migratory bird species that used urban forest fragments vs residential areas with tree canopy in Gainesville, Florida. Study results summarized in this fact sheet can help inform urban planners, developers, and homeowners about vegetation migratory birds use. Conservation of large, forested areas is important, but fragmented landscapes are not useless, and conserving urban forest fragments and trees in residential areas is also important for bird conservation.

Wildlife of Florida Fact Sheet: Eastern Bluebird

Hannah Fox, Bethany Wight, and E. Hance Ellington

This publication is part of the Wildlife of Florida fact sheet series, created to provide the public with a quick accurate introduction to Florida’s wildlife, including both native and invasive species. We hope this fact sheet inspires you to investigate the Eastern Bluebird and other wildlife in your own backyard and community and understand the amazing biodiversity of wildlife in the state of Florida.

Potential Breeding Habitat for 3 Forest-Specialist Birds in the Suburbs

Natalie Pegg and Mark Hostetler

Studies report that urban areas may not provide breeding habitat for interior-forest birds, but some residential neighborhoods do have sufficient vegetation to serve as breeding habitat for forest birds and even interior-forest specialists. The authors investigated the occurrence of three interior-forest specialists, pileated woodpeckers, summer tanagers, and northern parulas, during the breeding season in two suburban neighborhoods of Gainesville, Florida, and found that all three species occurred in residential neighborhoods consistently throughout the breeding season and were most often detected in local areas with dense vegetation from the ground to the canopy. Our results suggest that decision-makers can improve the amount of breeding habitat in southeastern cities for these three species by retaining forest fragments, tree canopy, large trees, tree snags, and understory vegetation.

Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)

Muhammad Azeem Akhter and Mark Hostetler

This fact sheet describes a common wintering bird in Florida called the cedar waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum). Information in this fact sheet is relevant to homeowners, backyard bird enthusiasts, and the general public. Written by Muhammad Azeem Akhter and Mark Hostetler, and published by the UF/IFAS Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, June 2024.

Top 10 Popular Raptors of Northern Belize

Elizabeth V. Scarlett, Venetia S. Briggs-Gonzalez, Justin R. Dalaba, Jorge E. Ruano, and Frank J. Mazzotti

More than 500 species of birds visit or live in Belize and because of its location, Northern Belize serves as an important stop-over point and attracts a large majority of migratory birds in addition to its year-round residents. This guide showcases the top 10 raptor species (predatory birds) that you are most likely to encounter while in Northern Belize.