FLORIDA WILDLIFE
HABITATS
A guide to establishing and
certifying your habitat
Florida Wildlife Federation
Welcome to the World of Wildlife Habitats
The Florida Wildlife Federation, working with the National Wildlife Federation, offers this expanded
education and certification program to help you plan and certify your habitat. The goal is to promote
gardening in Florida that will help support native animals that are losing their living spaces to Florida’s
rapidly expanding development.
The program was launched in 1973, and has certified the habitats of more than 110,000 sites in the
U. S., which includes more than 3000 school sites. Florida has passed the 6000 certified habitat mark,
making our state first in the nation.
We have made this power point presentation to help you plan and plant your habitat. It will also appear
on our website, www.fwfonline.org. We have included materials that will be of interest to you as you
work at establishing your habitat using materials with a special Florida flavor. We have included
information about the certification application so you can familiarize yourself with what you will need to
do to achieve that goal. Florida Wildlife Federation does not perform the certification. Certification must
be done through National Wildlife Federation. A printed National Wildlife Federation certification
application is available at our Tallahassee offices. Simply call (850) 656-7113 or e-mail
patricia@fwfonline.org and request that we mail you an application. You can also be certified
electronically directly from National Wildlife Federation, using the link that you will find on the first page
of the habitat section on our website, and you can download an application to fill out by hand and mail in
from that site.
We wish you the best of luck and enjoyment with constructing your habitat. We are here at the above
telephone number and e-mail address to help you with advice or problems.
Happy Gardening!
THE BASICS
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1. Grow plants that provide wildlife with a natural food source such as nuts, berries or nectar, or
offer supplemental feeders.
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2. Provide water for wildlife with a birdbath, small pond, or shallow dish.
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3. Offer protective cover for wildlife by providing a ground cover, a hollow log or rock piles,
dense shrubs or a roosting box.
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4. Provide places for wildlife to raise young such as a water garden, a pond or a nesting box.
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5. Practice sustainable gardening by mulching, composting or by reducing your lawn area.
Please watch what you plant in your garden.
Species not native to your region can become invasive and harmful to both people and wildlife.
This page adapted from a National Wildlife Federation publication.
PREVIEW OF APPLICATION QUESTIONS
The questions you will be asked on the National Wildlife Federation Wildlife Habitat Certification
Application form have check-off spaces, and are generally as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Your name, e-mail address (if applicable) phone number, address and general description of
the habitat property.
Type of wildlife habitat supports (insect, bird, mammal, etc.)
What kind of food you supply (seeds and berries, meadow grasses or leaves, and/or types of
feeders, etc.) (3 are required)
How do you supply water (birdbath, pond, stream, etc.) (2 are required)
How do you supply places to raise young (trees, meadows, nesting boxes, etc.) (2 are
required)
A list of the kinds of plants you have (trees, vines, evergreens, meadow grasses, etc.)
Sustainable gardening practices you maintain (reduction in lawn area and erosion, mulching,
elimination of pesticide use, a rain garden, etc.) (2 are required)
WHY NATIVE PLANTS
and
WHY NOT EXOTIC PLANTS?
Native plants often have fewer pest and disease problems than lawns and exotic (non-native)
plants. Because natives are also adapted to local temperature and rainfall patterns, they require
less watering and fertilizing to maintain sound health. Native plants provide better nutritional
requirements for native animals, and are the basis for delicately balanced food webs.
Selecting native plants for landscaping is ecologically responsible. In Florida, about 900 exotic
plants have been added to the choices of plants used to beautify areas. Of these, about 400
plants have already invaded natural areas where they aggressively compete with Florida natives.
Several of the most aggressive plants have drastically changed the Florida landscape both
ecologically and visually.
In North Florida, the most aggressive non-native is the kudzu vine, Pueraria labata. Kudzu vine
can turn a small pine forest into a green nightmare in just a few years. There is nothing left there
for native wildlife. The vine has created a “desert” for them.
Melaleuca quinquenervia was purposely introduced into South Florida as a landscape tree early
in the 20th century to stop soil erosion. Unfortunately, it also destroys habitat and wildlife.
INVASIVE EXOTICS ARE
VISITORS THAT NEVER LEAVE!
FLORIDA’S TOP 10 UNDESIRABLE PLANTS
1. Brazilian Pepper
5. Cogon Grass
8. Chinese Tallow
Once sold as a landscape
ornamental, it now infests more than
700,000 acres in central and south
Florida.
Found in sandhills, flatwoods,
grasslands, swamps and river
margins throughout the state. Its
rough edges will slice the skin.
Cogon grass produces chemicals
that inhibit growth of other plants.
Sometimes called the popcorn
tree, it first arrived in Florida in the
late 1700s. Ben Franklin was a
fan. It thrives in undisturbed
areas such as canopy forests,
bottomland hardwood forests, lake
shores and floating islands.
2. Australian Melaleuca Tree
Introduced to south Florida in 1906
and planted as windbreaks, it has
invaded 1.5 million acres and is
taking over an additional 50 acres
every day, It produces little of use to
wildlife.
3. Skunk Vine
A pernicious, pesky, smelly plant
now in 18 counties. It smothers
underbrush and strangles trees.
4. Tropical Soda Apple
Covers 500,000 acres of Florida
pastures, roadsides, ditch banks,
cultivated and natural areas.
6. Australian Pine
Grows in pinelands, sandy shores
and dunes, where its dense shade
and chemicals from leaf litter
displace native vegetation. Sea
turtles become entangled and
trapped in the trees’ exposed roots.
7. Water Hyacinth and Hydrilla
Hydrilla has invaded about 40
percent of the state’s rivers and
lakes. Florida DEP estimates it will
spend $100 million in a decade to
control hydrilla and water hyacinth.
9. Air Potato
Climbs high into tree canopies and
engulfs surrounding vegetation
10. Kudzu
Introduced in Florida in the 1920s,
it infests 7 million acres
throughout the southeastern
United States. Kudzu forms a
dense thicket of little use to
wildlife and crowds out other
plants, disrupting the ecosystem.
Bird Feeding – Do and Don’t
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Do keep your feeders clean, dump all old seed and hulls before refilling them. Disinfect with
¼ cup of bleach to 2 gallons of warm water every few weeks. Rinse and allow to air dry
before refilling.
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Do move your feeding station when the ground beneath it becomes covered with seed hulls
and droppings. Rake the old site to remove hulls and to give the grass a chance to recover.
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Don’t use grease, oils or petroleum jelly, or similar substances to thwart ants, squirrels,
or other feeder-raiding creatures. If these substances come in contact with bird feathers
they are impossible for the bird to preen or wash out. Gooey feathers can become
useless for flight or insulation. Baffles and ant guards are available in many stores.
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Don’t put out any more seed than can be eaten by nightfall. Don’t allow seed to become
and stay wet. In rainy weather, feed only from covered feeders that will keep seed dry,
or put out only a handful of seed at a time on platforms.
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Do, if you see a sick or dead bird at your feeder, halt your feeding for a few weeks to allow
the healthy birds to disperse. This lessens the possibility of disease transmission.
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Don’t provide suet in the summer. It can become rancid and unhealthy for birds and
cause the same problems for their feathers as grease, oils and petroleum jelly.
Attracting Hummingbirds
Tiny, shiny hummingbirds can be a wonderful
addition to your habitat.
If hummingbirds live in your area, you can attract
them by planting red, tubular flowers, and there
are many flowers of that description to choose
from. Many North American plants are pollinated
exclusively by hummingbirds. Check with your
local nursery for the best native plants for
attracting hummingbirds in your area.
Hummingbird feeders are an excellent way to
supplement the birds diet when flowers aren’t
blooming, and to arrange to have them feeding in
a spot easy for you to view them.
Fill feeders with a boiled solution of four parts of
water to one part of white, refined sugar or a
commercial “nectar” mix.
Do not use honey solutions in feeders, as this
may produce a fungal disease fatal to the birds.
Feeders should be washed every 3 to 5 days
using a mild detergent solution and a brush,
rinsed well, and allowed to air dry before refilling.
•The Cuban bee hummingbird is the smallest bird
in the world, 2 ½ inches long, about the size of a
bumblebee.
•Hummingbirds can hover like a helicopter, or
move forward, sideways or backward.
•A ruby-throated hummingbird, weighing about
1/10 of an ounce, can migrate 600 miles.
•Hummingbirds not only sip nectar, but also eat
tiny insects and spiders, and may drink up to 8
times their body weight in water every day.
•Hummingbirds’ body temperature is about 103
degrees F in the daytime, it may drop to 70
degrees F at night. They can endure temporary
cool weather or cool nights by becoming
dormant.
•The 340 species of hummingbirds are found
only in the western hemisphere.
•Hummingbird wing beats have been measured
at 20 – 200 beats per second.
•The ruby-throated hummingbird is our most
common “hummer.”
Attracting Butterflies
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Resident butterfly populations in your yard require both larval and nectar (adult) foods.
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Different kinds of butterflies require different plantings of shrubs on which to lay eggs, which will develop into
caterpillars and feed on the leaves of their host shrub. Therefore, plant those shrubs in a less visible area, as the
caterpillars will eat the leaves and cause the shrubs to look less attractive. Nectar flowers for adult food can be
placed where they can be easily seen and enjoyed.
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Do not use pesticides or herbicides in or near the butterfly garden.
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Flower colors that attract butterflies include orange, yellow, pink, purple and red. Deep-throated, drooping, or
enclosed flowers are unsuitable for nectar-gathering. Wildflowers are great for attracting butterflies, though many
hybridized flowers fail to attract. White flowers, and those emitting their fragrances at night, usually attract moths.
Nectar Plants for Butterflies
Trees
Bottlebrush
Citrus
Wild Lime
Buckeye
Shrubs
Azalea
Butterfly Bush
Fetterbush
New Jersey Tea
Vines,
V ground covers, and herbs
Asters
i
Thistle
Clover
n
Spanish Needle
Coreopsis
e
Yarrow
Daisy
s
Groundsel
V
Grasses
Gerardia
Honeysuckle
Sedums
Lantana
Liatris
Phlox
Queen Anne’s Lace
Red Root
Bedding Plants
Calendula
Impatiens
Marigold (single)
Petunia
Sunflower
Verbena
Zinnia (single)
Penta
Scabiosa
Butterfly larval food plants
Butterfly
Plant needed for larvae and caterpillar
Atala…
coontie (Zamia floridana)
Buckeye
plantain (plantago spp.), snapdragon (Antirrhinum spp), Ludwigia spp, sedums
Pearly Crescent
asters (esp. native spp.), crownbeard (Verbesina occidentalis)
Dogface
clover (Trifolium spp.), leadplant (Amorta fruticosa)
Gulf Frittilary
passion vine (Passiflora incarnata)
Florida leafwing
croton (Croton llinearus)
Goatweed butterfly
croton (C. capitatum and C. monanthogynus))
Julia
passion vines (Passiflora spp.)
Monarch
milkweeds (Asclepias spp.) Note: check with your county Extension Office for species
Mourning Cloak
elms (Ulmus spp.), willow (Salix spp.), hackberry (Celtis spp.)
Painted Lady
thistles (Circium spp.), many composits (Asteracea), mallows (Malvaciae)
Queen
milkweeds (Asclepias spp.) Note: check with your county Extension Office for species
Red Admiral nettles (Urtica spp.), false nettle (Boehmaria cylindrica)
Red-spotted Purple
willows (Salix spp.), scrub oaks (Quercus spp.)
Long-tailed skipper
legumes (Fabaceae), crucifers (Brassicaceae)
Orange-barred sulphur
cassias (Cassia spp.)
Common sulphur
legumes (Fabaceae)
Black swallowtail
carrots, parsley, dill, Queen Anne’s Lace (Umbelliferae)
Pipevine swallowtail
pipevines Aristolochia spp.), knotweeds (Polyganum spp.)
Palamedes swallowtail
red bay (Persea borbonia), sweet bay (Magnolia virginiana), sassafras (Sassafras albidum)
Schaus’ swallowtail
torchwood (Amyris elimfera)), wild lime (Zanthoxylum fagara)
Spicebush swallowtail
spicebush (Lindera benzoin), red bay (Persea borbonia), sweet bay (Magnolia virginiana)
Tiger swallowtail
many broadleaf trees and shrubs, .willows (Salix spp.), tulip poplars (Liriodendrun tulipifera
Zebra swallowtail
pawpaws (Asimina spp.)
Zebra Longwing
passionvine (Passiflora spp.)
( Information adapted from Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission publication)
Reduce your lawn
A gas mower pollutes as much in an hour as a car
does driving for 350 miles.
FIVE GOOD REASONS TO REDUCE YOUR
LAWN
30 to 60% of the potable water supply in the U.S. is
used for maintaining lawns.
1.
Save time and money that you would normally
spend on mowing and fertilizing.
67 million pounds of synthetic pesticides are used
on U.S. lawns annually.
2.
Increase your home’s energy efficiency.
3.
Attract and provide for wildlife visitors.
4.
Conserve water
5.
Reduce mower pollution and decrease run-off
from fertilizers and pesticides.
Lawn monocultures offer little habitat value for
wildlife.
Adapted from a National Wildlife Federation publication.
PLEASE! DO NOT USE CYPRESS MULCH.
The commercial trade in cypress mulch is depleting and endangering Florida’s
beautiful and unique Cypress Trees. These trees are not being grown and
harvested in a sustainable manner.
If you prefer a wood-chip mulch, look for Melaleuca mulch, which is made
from one of the most invasive trees in Florida.
PowerPoint Presentation created by
Patricia L. Pearson
Florida Wildlife Federation
PO Box 6870
Tallahassee, FL 32314-6870
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All photos in this presentation are from NWF certified habitats in Florida
All line drawings in this presentation are used with permission, or are in the public
domain
Any pages or information from this presentation may be shown or copied, as long as
Florida Wildlife Federation is credited.