Wildlife Viewing - With Your Child - Discover Nature at Night

drawing of family With Your Child

Discover Nature at Night

As daylight dims and a faint breeze heralds nightfall, a whole host of organisms, from earwigs and cockroaches, to owls and bats, begin the active part of their daily cycle. Florida’s mild climate permits after-dark exploration on a year-round basis. Venture out with your family and try some of the activities listed below:

Use your eyes…

Fireflies or lightning bugs – These beetles emit a light , or bioluminescence, made when a protein, luciferin, is mixed with oxygen and an enzyme, luciferase. Some fireflies are active at dusk, others at full dark. The flashing communication is made by both sexes but the pattern of flashing differs with each species.
Bats – Bats are most easily observed at dusk, at the point when most bird activity has ceased. Look for the bat’s rapid wing beats and erratic flight.
Moths – Moths are important pollinators. At dusk you may see hawk moths hovering like hummingbirds over flower gardens. Many species are attracted to streetlights. One species to look for is the large luna moth, pale green in color and three to four inches across.
Raccoons, rabbits, armadillos, opossums and foxes – These mammals are fairly common in many suburban settings. Look for them at dawn or dusk.

Listen to night sounds…

Crickets and grasshoppers – These insects make sounds by rubbing together two body parts; wing against wing, or wing against leg, for instance.
Cicadas – Some species sing in the day, some in the evening. The buzzing sound is made by the males and is produced by sound organs in the thorax.
Owls – You may hear any of three owl species. Screech owls sound like a horse whinny; barred owls sound like it is saying "Who cooks for you?" and great horned owls have a resonant hooting of 3 to 8 hoots. What owls have you heard in your neighborhood?
Chuck-will's widow - Folks in the country have probably heard the chuck-will’s widow, whose call sounds like its name with an emphasis on the "wid" of widow.
Flying squirrels – If you hear what sounds like bird chirps at night, you might be listening to flying squirrels. They don’t really fly, of course, but rather glide up to 150 feet using flaps of skin that stretch between the extended front and hind legs on each side of the body.

photo of flying squirrel
Flying Squirrel