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Tall, graceful sandhill cranes, swift kestrels, cute bur­rowing owls and dainty wading birds may cross yourview as you pick up your mail or look across thegreens. Perhaps the wild beauty of natural Floridaseems to be right in your own backyard. In a way it is!The Villages, as part of the overall development plan,has set aside a number of refuges for protected nativeFlorida species. Many people visit our state each yearfrom all over the world specifically to see and enjoy theunique plants and animals that you may be lucky enoughto have living practically in the backyard.

“It’s like a wildlife vacation in your ownbackyard!”

While travel brochures prominently display alligators,colorful wading birds, and lumbering tortoises, we don’teven have to travel beyond our own development to seethem. These interesting animals, along with many otherspecies, have occupied the farm and ranch lands in thispart of Florida for more than a hundred years, living inharmony with many human activities. As our develop-ment continues to grow, our yards, golf courses andstreets cover what was once open pastures and for-ested hammocks.

Because our area is rich in wildlife species, we havecreated special wildlife and wetland preserves to providecontinued habitat. These specially managed preserveareas allow animals to continue to find food, breed, nestand successfully rear young. Our preserves are a refugefrom many of the disturbances associated with humanhabitation, providing a safe haven for these protectedcreatures to live, nest successfully, and maintainhealthy populations. Most of the birds, butterflies andfrogs that you enjoy watching are not rare or in danger ofdisappearing. However, some of the most interestingresident species do owe their continued existence toprotection which we offer in our 13 major wildlife pre-serves.

The Villages has the distinction of being an innovator increating successful, multi-species wildlife mitigation pre­serves to benefit all wildlife.

Sunrise: Birds fly… Sunset: Frogs call...from my yard I can see it all.

Are you one of the lucky ones living next to or withinview of The Villages' wildlife preserves?

The benefits of living near a wildlife protection areamay not be obvious to all. However, more and more peoplefrom every corner of the country are competing for the lim-ited property still available near diminishing wildlife areas.The Villages’ preserves offer residents an opportunity toview native wildlife in a peaceful, quiet setting with suffi-cient time to actually witness intricate courtship behaviorsof sandhill cranes and gopher tortoises, and then follow thenesting success, watching fluffy little burrowing owls taketheir first flights. Park visits rarely provide time for suchunique observations, yet our residents can enjoy theseencounters daily from their doorstep or golf course.

The preserves at The Villages are set aside for the con-tinued protection of wildlife, and not for human or petuse. You can enjoy the benefits of wildlife viewing.People and pets should not be inside these preserves.Specific regulations are posted around preserves andgolf courses. Residents are asked to be aware of andobey all protected species regulations. Violations can leadto serious penalties including fines and imprisonment.Help protect your wildlife preserves and your investment inthe future beauty of nature at The Villages. Report anyviolations or wildlife concerns!

Wildlife Concerns?Contact The Villages Community

Watch at (352) 753-0550

Natural Florida Beauty Preserved at The Villages

FloridaSandhill Crane

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Burrows: Whose home could it be?

The lumbering brownish-gray gopher tortoises nest fromApril through July, burying their eggs near their burrowentrance. The eggs hatch in late summer and the tinybrown and yellow tortoises may spend their first year in theadult burrow or may dig a nearby small burrow . Remem-ber that these are a protected species and without statepermits, gopher tortoises may not be harassed, moved,or kept as pets. Gopher tortoise burrows can go be-neath the ground 18 feet and be over 40 feet long. Like anunderground hotel, these burrows provide habitat for over350 different vertebrate and invertebrate species. The pro-tected gopher frog may share the burrow along with pro-tected snake species.

The sandy mounds with no opening usually indicate apocket gopher. These small mammals create an incrediblesystem of burrows which act like an underground subwaysystem, allowing the invertebrates like insects and evenvertebrates like pine snakes to move underground unseen.

The Villages Underground!

Did you ever wonder what goes on under the groundin our nature preserves or even in your own backyard?What creatures burrow beneath these sandy soils? Thosewho are gardeners may think of pesky moles or molecrickets damaging their flowers. However, don't rush toeliminate our burrowers. Some are protected speciesthat rarely interfere with gardens or lawns. Those sandypiles on the golf course, lawn or preserve could indicateburrowing owls, pocket gophers, or gopher tortoises. Alarge burrow with a flattened bottom by a sand moundcould be a gopher tortoise burrow. If the opening ismore steep and round, it could be a burrowing owl bur-row. Larger mammals that occupy burrows, like foxesand armadillos, prefer more sheltered forested areas.

Are there eggs or baby owls in the burrow?Our biologists use modern optical and video technol-

ogy to actually peek in on the private, underground lives ofburrowing owls. Using a burrow scope, they canidentify nests with eggs or nestlings. This technique hasalso been used to peer into some of the shorter gophertortoise burrows and to locate tortoises or various commensalspecies, such as gopher frogs, which live with the tortoises.

Protect Wading Birds at The Villages

There are protected species of wading birds that youmight see feeding in the wetland preserves, along wateron the golf courses and sometimes even looking for insectsin lawns. Populations of these birds have been declining dueto habitant loss. The herons, egret and ibis usually beginearly spring nesting in rookeries located in secluded, dense,shrubby vegetation over water. Wood storks often nestamong other wading birds, preferring tree-covered swamps.The Florida sandhill crane builds nests on the ground inwet prairies from January to June. Wading birds may feedon worms, tadpoles, frogs, fish, lizards, snakes and occasion-ally, small rodents. Management of our wetland preservesand other open water areas is designed to provide cover andencourage growth of the creatures which serve as food forthe wading birds.

Burrowing owls may dig several feet down or use unoc-cupied gopher tortoise burrows. Burrowing owls create around, steeper entrance and during breeding season oftenuse insect parts to decorate the burrow mouth.

Gopher Tortoise

Florida Burrowing Owl

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Wood Stork

LittleBlueHeron

WhiteIbis Snowy

Egret

Tri-ColoredHeron

GreatBlueHeron

Little Blue HeronNoticeably smaller than the well-known great blue heron, these

are the only herons that are all grayish-blue, with a greenish-

yellow bill, legs and feet in non-breeders; and gray during breed-

ing season. The tip of the bill is black. The young birds are of-

ten mistaken for egrets because they are white with yellow legs.

Florida Sandhill CraneStanding nearly four feet high, this smoky gray bird has a notice-able red cap, black beak and feet. These resident cranes remainyear-round, though we do receive migrant sandhill cranesfrom the Midwest during the winter months. Sandhill cranesoften feed more on vegetation than our other wading birds. Thesebirds may treat you to an amazing sight as they perform a gracefulmating dance, lifting their wings and beaks, and jumping.

Tri-Colored HeronSimilar in form and color to the little blue heron, these medium-sizedwading birds can be distinguished by their white belly and throat.Juveniles may have rufous streaks along the sides of the neck.

White IbisThese wading birds are more often seen on lawns than in the wa-ter, and they can be easily recognized by their red legs andcurved red bill.

Snowy EgretNamed for its snow white feathers, this is the smallest of theprotected wading birds. It has a black beak and legs with brightyellow feet.

Wood StorkThe only one of our wading bird species federally listed as

"endangered", and is also the largest of our wading birds with

a wing span of over six feet. The all white body and pink feet

provide sharp contrast to the bare, gray head, beak and legs.

For more information on birds, consult A Golden Guideto The Birds of North America, or Roger Tory Peterson'sField Guide to Birds, or Kale's Florida Birds: A Handbookand Reference.

Identifying the Protected Speciesof The Villages

BIRDSBurrowing OwlThese small brownishowls with bright yelloweyes, stand only nineinches tall with a twofoot wingspan andmales look very similarto females. Activeboth day and night,they are most oftenseen on open groundnear their burrow or ona raised post nearbyfrom which they cansurvey the area fortheir favorite forage: beetles, crickets, and grasshop-pers. You may see them on the golf course or on your

SandhillCrane

Florida Burrowing Owl

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lawn, chomping on insects.Either digging their own burrows or using gopher tor-

toise burrows, these gregarious owls nest several feetunderground and lay three to seven eggs between Februaryand July. Nest burrows are recognized by the "decorations"of dead insect parts, beetle shells, and other oddities themale leaves around the burrow mouth to attract the female.The young run in and out of the burrow until they are able tofly. During this time they are very vulnerable to predators.This is one reason that it is essential no pets are allowedaccess to burrows, and that shrubs and other potential hidingplaces for predators be kept at least 50 feet from any burrow-ing owl burrow.

Southeastern American

Southeastern American KestrelThis threatened subspecies remains in Florida year

round and is our smallest falcon, measuring only about 10inches in length, with a wingspan of barely two feet. Bothsexes of this rusty-colored kestrel have white cheeks andtwo black facial stripes. The males have blue- grey over thewings and shoulders.

Kestrels often nest in hollow trees or snags; however,they adapt very well to properly placed nest boxes 10 to 30feet above the ground located in the preserves andgolf courses throughout The Villages. Nesting occursbetween January and August with most of their nestingoccurring from mid-March through early June. The fe-male usually lays from three to five eggs, remains on thenest and is fed by the male. After the eggs hatch, both birdsforage for the young, covering a large area in search of in-sects, lizards, frogs, small rodents and small snakes.

During the breeding season, these birds are very sen-sitive to any disturbance near their nest boxes and suchstress can lead to unsuccessful nesting. You will notice thenest boxes being cleaned out, repaired, and monitored atleast twice a year.

Bald Eagle

Bald eagles are found near water (coasts, lakes,and rivers) and feed predominantly on fish. They alsoeat water fowl, small mammals and carrion. Florida hasthe largest population of eagles in the Southeast U.S.with up to 75 percent of bald eagles living in Florida.

Female eaglesare larger than maleeagles. Eagles growto a height of 3 feetand have a wingspanof 7 feet. Breedingpairs will use thesame nest each yearand add more twigseach breeding season.A nest can weigh up toone ton. The nestingseason for bald eaglesin Florida is from Oc-tober 1 to May 15.The birds develop intoadults in four to five years. The adults have a distinctwhite head and tail and solid brown body. Juveniles arebrown with patches of white on the underside and tail.

Human development around eagle nests necessi-tates protection zones, thereby reducing human activitynear the nest. Trained biologists are required to monitoreagle nests in areas being developed to determine ifhuman activities in the vicinity are affecting nesting.

MAMMALSSherman’s Fox Squirrel

This huge squirrel is almost twice the size of the familiargray squirrel, seem-ing to stretch out andlope as it runs, morelike a fox. About thesize of a house cat, itcan be recognized byits black head, whiteears and muzzle, andvery long tail.

The Villages contin-ues to protect muchof our original treecanopy to providethis squirrel a way tosurvive. The majordanger to this pro-

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tected species is predation by dogs and cats. These squir-rels feed on the acorns and seeds of oak and pine trees,often crossing the ground between widely spaced trees.This makes them quite vulnerable to these unnatural preda-tors. These mammals breed and nest in the winter whenacorns are most available and sometimes a second time insummer. Nests are usually in oak trees and are constructedof sticks, leaves and Spanish moss.

REPTILESThere are over 40 species of snakes in Florida with

six being venomous. Venomous snakes are rare atThe Villages. The harmless, banded water snake is com-monly seen near wetlands. In general, The Villages do nothave a large number of snakes. Heavy rains encouragemovement of snakes, causing increased interest in identifi-cation and in ways to move or eliminate snakes found inyards or on golf courses. It is illegal to kill or molest pro-tected snake species. The best way to keep them out ofyour yard is to remove all potential “cover,” like densevegetation or piles of leaves that might provide a place forthem to hide or find potential food such as rodents.

Eastern Indigo Snake

This smooth-scaled iridescent, blue-black snake isthe largest non-poisonous snake in North America, reaching

a length of 104inches. Indigos areoften considered“helpful” snakes,since they eat othersnakes and rodents.The chin and throatare often rusty to ablood-red color. It issometimes confusedwith the black racerwhich has a whitethroat and is gener-ally more slender.This snake is usually

found in upland habitats which border wetlands, and is con-sidered threatened throughout its range.

Short-Tailed Snake

This snake is very slender, reaching only 20inches in length. Its gray body is blotched with brown orblack and occasionally with orange or dark red, making iteasily confused with juvenile coachwhips or black racerswhich have much larger eyes than this secretive snake. It

spends most of the time under the sandy soils of dry up-land habitats. When distressed, this snake may strikewildly and vibrate its tail, but it is really harmless. Theyare known to eat crown snakes and ground skinks.

Florida Pine Snake

Also secretive, thislight tan to gray snake hasdarker blotches making ithard to see among the dryleaves of upland areas.Though harmless, if fright-ened, it lets out a loud hissand may rattle its tail in dryleaves

American AlligatorAmerican alligators are among the more ancient of the

creatures still inhabiting Florida wilderness, with a good-sized population in this area. As rains re-flood wetlandareas, alligators may be seen with increased frequencyat The Villages. Alligators are protected by law and resi-dents should not feed or harass these animals.

Although they are most likely to be seen in the wetlandpreserves sunning on a bank or lying in wait for food tocome into range among weeds at water's edge, alligatorsmay be encountered as they move from one pond or wet­

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land area to another. This movement between ponds is nor-mal, and they are not coming out of the pond to look forfood. These alligators normally feed within their wetlandenvironment. All alligators should be viewed withhealthy respect. Alligators are not generally aggressive ex-cept when they have been fed by people, or when afemale is defending her nest or pod of young. If an alliga-tor enters your yard, be sure to give it a way to escapeback to its home, and call The Villages NeighborhoodWatch so they can notify The Villages Wildlife ConservationOfficer.

AmphibiansGopher Frog

You will hearmore than yousee th is pro-tected Flor idafrog, due to its re-clusive lifestyle.The mediumsized, spotted,dusky gray, frogspends much of itstime inside or sitting in front of gopher tortoise burrows. Likemost amphibians, the gopher frog requires an unpollutedfreshwater pond for breeding that has few resident fish toeat its eggs. The rumbling snore-like call of the males canbe heard in the winter and early spring during and afterheavy rains.

Who makes the rules?Species are identified as needing protection to ensure

continued survival in the wild by the U.S. Fish and WildlifeService under the provision of the Endangered Species Act.The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is thestate agency that regulates and enforces the ways in whichwe interact with wildlife.

Greens, gardens, lawns and landscaping:Not too exotic, please!

We strive to create an exotic atmosphere in keepingwith the tropical theme of The Villages, but exotic plantsor even houseplants can sometimes escape into nature pre­serves, and overrun native species. Escaped exoticscan also adversely affect the survival of protected ani-mal species and drastically alter their natural habitats.

Residents are encouraged to incorporate native spe-cies into their landscape plans whenever possible. The pub-lication, Planting a Refuge for Wildlife, lists native plantsfor your yard or garden that are beneficial to wildlife. Thisguide is available free from the Florida Fish and WildlifeConservation Commission Information Services by calling1-850-488-4676 or writing them at 620 S. Meridian Street,Tallahassee, FL 32399-1600.

As we maintain the beauty of our native and exoticplantings at The Villages, great care is taken to avoidinsecticides and herbicides that may be harmful to nativewildlife. Villages golf courses are managed with carefulconcern for the health of burrowing owls and kestrels. Theinsect-eating birds may be harmed by highly toxic pesti­cides or herbicides.

Residents also are asked to keep this in mind whenusing pesticides or herbicides in their yards. Burrow-ing owls often are seen feeding on lawns in ourneighborhoods. Toxic chemicals taken in by insectsthat become food for owls or kestrels can kill the adultbirds or may be passed on to harm their young.

Run-off of chemicals including fertilizers fromneighborhood yards can wash into wetland pre-serves and breeding ponds for protected gopherfrogs, alligators and wading birds. This can upset thedelicate balance in these aquatic systems, leading tostagnation and an unpleasant odor as well as killing wild-life.

For more information, contact: The University of Flor-ida IFAS Extension Service in your county: Lake: (352)343-4101, Marion: (352) 671-8400, or Sumter: (352) 793-2728.

Follow the rules:1. Use only approved pesticides2. Follow all label directions3. Use natural, nontoxic pesticides when possible4. Limit use of fertilizers

Dogs and gators don’t mixPets must not be allowed to run free or access Villages

lakes, ponds and wetland preserve areas by agreement

with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Com-

mission. Dogs and cats are within the normal food-size

for some alligators, and it is against the law to “feed

alligators” in Florida. Pets are unnatural predators

that may also kill baby alligators or destroy alligator

nests.