Wildlife Viewing - Florida Wildlife Calendar

Florida Wildlife Viewing Calendar

January

December and January are best times for watching waterfowl on wetlands, lakes, and prairies.
Nesting season begins for roseate spoonbills, Florida sandhill cranes, hawks and owls.
Carolina yellow jessamine blooms in north and central Florida woods.
Observe hawks and kestrels along highways.
During cold spells, manatees congregate at natural springs and industrial warm water sites.
Gray foxes, bobcats, and raccoons at peak of courtship and breeding this month.
Clouds of tree swallows roost at sunset over large marsh systems.
Snail kites begin courtship in central Florida late this month.
Cedar waxwings and robins are eating fruits such as holly berries.
Male cardinals begin territorial singing later in the month.
Early returning purple martins can be seen in South Florida.
Black bears in north Florida are sleeping in dens.
Deer mating season in the Panhandle.
Peak of wild hog farrowing season.
Black crappie start a feeding binge in central Florida.
Striped bass and sunshine bass move into open water to feed on shad.
Put your old Christmas tree to good use - start a brush pile near your bird feeder. Not only will it provide good year-round cover for birds, but it will also take up a lot less space in your county land fill.

February

Purple martins scouts look over North Florida nesting sites. Make sure houses are up!
Trilliums and dogtooth violets bloom in Panhandle ravines.
Clean and repair eastern bluebird nest boxes.
Greater sandhill cranes migrate from Florida northward to Michigan and Wisconsin.
Purple finches and pine siskins will leave our north Florida feeders and begin their migration back to northern nesting areas.
Bald cypress trees leaf out in Big Cypress Swamp.
Nesting season begins for ospreys in north Florida.
Wood storks nesting in Corkscrew Swamp.
Watch for manatees in spring runs.
Snowy plovers start nesting.
Sooty terns nesting in the Dry Tortugas.
Wild turkeys and quail mate in south Florida.
Magnificent frigatebirds begin nesting in the Dry Tortugas.
Woodcocks begin courtship behavior in north Florida.
Woodpeckers begin their mating season and announce territories by drumming on houses, telephone poles and other objects.
Eastern moles are breeding this month in tunnels under our lawns.
Pocket gophers begin their spring breeding season.
First litters of gray squirrels born
Striped skunks begin their breeding season.
Bear cubs born in dens this month.
Deer fawns born in south Florida.
Schools of Spanish mackerel roam Florida Bay.
Black crappie and s triped bass are spawning.
American crocodiles begin mating, followed by nesting in April.
Leatherback sea turtles begin nesting on sandy beaches along the southeast coast.

March

Carolina wrens begin nesting - hang a gourd or open basket under your eaves.
Swallow-tailed kites return to Florida from South American wintering areas.
Frogs and toads move to ponds, streams and ditches to breed following rains.
Lake Kissimmee shellcrackers bed on the full moon.
First mangrove cuckoos return to the Keys.
Listen for newly returned Chuck-will's-widows calling after sunset.
Bromeliads start to flower in south Florida swamps.
Great blue herons may be seen on their nests.
Largemouth bass start to bed in north Florida; redear sunfish begin bedding in central Florida.
Last chance until next winter to see manatees congregating at warm water sites.
Great-crested flycatchers return late March to early April.
Brown thrashers begin singing.
Migrating songbirds, in full breeding plumage, arrive in waves each week.
Wood storks in central Florida begin courtship and nesting.
Sooty terns hatching in Dry Tortugas.
Peak of snowy plovers nesting.
Scrub-jays begin to mate and build nests in scrub oaks.
Wild turkey and quail begin breeding in central and north Florida.
Hummingbirds return.
Purple martins begin nesting.
Litters of raccoons, bobcat, and armadillos are being born.
Black bears begin moving after winter’s inactivity.
Endangered gray bats return to Florida caves to raise young.
Horseshoe crabs lay eggs on coastal beaches on a full moon at high tide.
Ghost crabs come out of hibernation.
Cow-nosed rays move north along the Atlantic coast.
Gulf of Mexico sturgeon move into the Suwannee River to spawn.
White bass run up the Ochlockonee River above Lake Talquin.
Snakes and other reptiles are more active and likely to be seen in yards and gardens.
Pine Barrens tree frogs start calling.
Tree frogs lay eggs now through August. Tadpoles hatch out in about 5 days.
Chickasaw plum and crabapples bloom in north Florida.

April

Migrant warblers concentrate on coasts after cold fronts.
Indigo buntings, Mississippi kites, eastern kingbirds, grosbeaks, warblers, tanagers, orioles and thrushes begin returning to North America.
Wood storks in north Florida begin courtship and nesting.
Florida sandhill crane chicks more conspicuous as they become old enough to begin foraging in open habitat.
Common loons head north from their Florida wintering grounds.
Bobwhite quail nest now through September.
Long-tailed weasels, minks, and river otters will be born April through May.
Plant extra parsley for black swallowtail butterfly larvae to forage.
Watch for hummingbirds feeding on blooms of columbine, buckeye, and feeders.
Most wild turkey hens are nesting.
Blooming wildflowers and pitcher plant blanket the wet savannahs of the Panhandle.
Larval mole salamanders mature and leave ponds.
Bobcat kittens born this month and next.
Manatees are dispersing around Florida’s coastal waterways.
Seasonal manatees speed zones change in Florida’s waterways.
Stingrays move close to shore in southwest Florida.
Largemouth bass move into shallow water in Lake Talquin.
Jack crevalles and cobia move into coastal waters off the east coast.
Alligators begin moving about, seeking new territories and mates.
American crocodiles in Florida Bay begin laying eggs.
Florida softshell turtles lay eggs now through July.
Carolina anoles breed.
Loggerhead sea turtles begin to nest on Florida sandy beaches along the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the Straits of Florida.

May

Tropic birds arrive in Dry Tortugas.
Bald eagles begin migrating north.
Red-cockaded woodpeckers are breeding.
Flathead catfish congregate below Jim Woodruff Dam, Apalachicola River.
Courtship ritual of adult alligators begins, noted by the loud and resounding bellows and water slapping. Continues through June.
Peak flight period for Schaus' swallowtail butterfly in Keys.
The last of the cedar waxwings and goldfinches head for their northern breeding grounds.
Painted buntings nest through summer in northeast Florida.
White swamp lilies dot wet prairies and sloughs in the Everglades.
Least terns nest on beaches, sandy flats, and flat gravel rooftops that look like beaches!
Celebrate International Migratory Bird Day.
Brown pelican and white ibis young are now visible in nests.
White-crowned pigeons begin nesting on mangrove islands in Florida Bay.
Breeding begins for many resident and summer songbirds.
Bluegill are bedding at the full moon.
Redbreast sunfish and spotted sunfish begin spawning in rivers.
Pompano are running in the north Florida surf.
Green sea turtles will begin nesting more abundantly now through September.
Lights Out! Sea turtles emerge from their nests and head for the ocean. Females may become confused by lights on the beach.
Peak of coyote denning season.
Most bats give birth May through mid-June.
American lotus in bloom on wetlands.
Alligator snapping turtles nesting this month.

June

Black skimmers hatch young on beaches.
It is the height of the gopher tortoise nesting season.
Laughing gulls hatch young on beaches and mangrove islands in Florida Bay.
It's nesting season for least terns, oystercatchers, and black skimmers. They nest on islands, undisturbed beaches, and rooftops.
Most animals -- including alligators, southern flying squirrels, black-necked stilts, and red-cockaded woodpeckers -- are nesting.
Peak month for wildfires, which rejuvenate many Florida plant communities.
Red and Seminole bats give birth.
Blooming tarflowers in flatwoods signal the beginning of summer.
Cicadas emerge and begin the song of summer.
Leatherback, loggerhead and green sea turtles continue to crawl ashore to lay eggs.
Lights Out! Sea turtles emerge from their nests and head for the ocean. Females may become confused by lights on the beach.
Juvenile green sea turtles forage on hard bottom close to the southeast coast.
Female alligators are building nests.
Eighteen-month old black bears separate from their mothers.
Whelks spawn, laying long “necklaces” of eggs.
Black sea urchins spawn throughout the summer at each full moon along the Keys.
Sea squirts spawn on the grass flats.
Migrating tarpon can be found almost anywhere in the Keys.
Snook begin moving out to inlets and passes.
Indigo snakes lay their eggs, sometimes in gopher tortoise burrows.

July

Scrub morning glory and butterfly weed bloom in July.
Sea oats are flowering on Atlantic beaches.
In South Florida young crocodiles are hatching.
Buck deer in new velvet may occasionally be spotted.
Swallow-tailed and Mississippi kites, purple martins, and tree swallows begin to gather to migrate south for the winter.
Look for magnificent frigatebirds flying overhead in south Florida.
Mulch your garden to conserve water but leave patches of soil exposed for dusting by birds.
Second litters of gray squirrels are being born.
Baby raccoons, foxes, armadillos, and bobcat leave their mothers. raccoons, bobcat, and armadillos
Bear breeding season starts.
Listen for Eastern narrowmouth toads ("waaa", like a baying sheep) after heavy rains.
Lights Out! Sea turtles emerge from their nests and head for the ocean. Females may become confused by lights on the beach.
Leatherback, loggerhead, and green sea turtles continue to crawl ashore to lay eggs.

August

Alligators hatch out from mid-August to mid-September.
Yellow warbler migration begins.
Short-tailed shrews are beginning a second round of breeding for the year.
Shorebirds and blue-winged teal arrive to winter on Florida wetlands and lakes.
Wild hog breeding season begins.
Deer are breeding in southern Florida.
Corals along the coast spawn in conjunction with the full moon.
Bass foraging in shallows in late evenings, early morning and nighttime.
Young s ea turtles are still hatching so watch where you're walking on the beach.
Indigo snakes and other snake eggs are hatching.
Gopher tortoises are hatching.
Lights Out! Sea turtles emerge from their nests and head for the ocean. Females may become confused by lights on the beach.
Loggerhead and green sea turtles continue to nest; leatherbacks depart for their oceanic foraging grounds.

September

Warblers migrate southward.
In late September gray bats migrate to north Alabama for winter hibernation.
First signs of leaves changing color; blazing star, rabbit tobacco and blue curls abloom.
Peak of hurricane season - watch for unusual bird sightings following tropical storms.
Bald eagles return to nest sites and begin courtship.
Panhandle blue crabs migrate to deeper water for winter.
Hawks begin migrating – watch for them along both coasts and in the Florida Keys.
Peak blooming period for water-spider orchids in central Florida.Florida scrub-jay fledglings have completely blue heads, having lost their brown juvenile plumage.
The rut begins for Key deer.
Atlantic sturgeon begin fall migration from the Suwannee and Apalachicola Rivers to the Gulf of Mexico.
Green sea turtles continue to nest; loggerhead leave Florida shores to begin their migrations.
Lights Out! Sea turtles emerge from their nests and head for the ocean. Females may become confused by lights on the beach.
Lovebugs, or Bibionidae flies, mate in the middle of roadways.

October

Warbler migration peaks early this month.
Monarch butterfly migration nears its peak along Florida's Gulf coast.
Turkey vultures return mid-month to Miami courthouse and other areas in south Florida.
Peak in chimney swift migrations in South Florida.
Black bears are on the move, gathering food. If you live in bear country, drive slow and be sure your garbage cans are bear-proofed.
Gray foxes begin mating this month.
Northeast Florida: Look for migrating Peregrine falcons in natural areas, especially along the coast as they follow shorebird prey.
Deer mating season begins in northeast and central Florida.
Flying squirrels will be raising their second litters and moving into pecan groves as the nuts ripen.
Flatwoods salamanders breed with the first heavy rains of October.
Lights Out! Sea turtles emerge from their nests and head for the ocean.

November

Greater sandhill cranes arrive to winter.
Watch for northern harriers gliding low over the marshes.
Peak month for roadkills of black bears.
Peak of deer rutting in central and north Florida.
Cedar waxwings, phoebes, robins and other northern songbirds arrive for the winter.
Florida manatees start to head south to warm water sites when temperatures drop.
Seasonal manatee Speed Zones change on Florida’s waterways.
Ornate chorus frogs begin calling.
Look for downy, hairy, red-bellied, and red-headed woodpeckers on suet feeders.
White pelicans begin migrating south to Florida.
Bald eagles begin their nesting season. Look for spectacular aerial courtship displays.
Cypress trees begin turning rust color.
Winter rains, shorter days and cooler temperatures present the perfect time for adding to your yard plants that provide food for wildlife.

December

Annual Christmas Bird Count begins mid-month.
Buy live Christmas trees for later planting - red cedar, holly and pine are nice.
Great horned and barred owls are courting; listen for their hooting.
During cold spells, manatees congregate at natural springs and industrial warm water sites.
Bears are still on the move. Watch out for them in Lake, Collier, Marion, Highlands, Jefferson, Gulf, Volusia and Hernando counties.
Belted kingfishers become more common as winter migrants join resident populations.
Right whales appear off east coast north of Sebastian Inlet.
Snail kites in south Florida begin courtship this month.
Goldfinches are plentiful in north Florida.
Nesting season begins for ospreys in south Florida.
December and January are best times for watching waterfowl on wetlands, lakes, and prairies.
In north Florida, bald eagles start hatching about Christmas day.
Opossum breeding now through mid-summer.