[hiknapster]

Oh, okay! Now that I think about it, I remember squirrels but they were small with not much fur. Right? The ones in Central Florida look more like the ones up north. I don't remember a lot of songbirds, either, and I lived in a lot of different places from Fort Myers to Bonita Springs. Lots of trees in some of those places, too. When I moved up to Tenn. I was delighted by all the birds and the fireflies as well. My property now has 21 mature trees and I am infested by squirrels, much to my dog's chagrin. There seems to be a cutoff point of somewhere in Central Florida for robins. They don't like it that hot.

Up in Mass. I actually had a baby squirrel for awhile. We think his mom was killed by a car. He walked right up to my son who was playing ball in the backyard.

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Oh, okay! Now that I think about it, I remember squirrels but they were small with not much fur. Right? The ones in Central Florida look more like the ones up north. I don't remember a lot of songbirds, either, and I lived in a lot of different places from Fort Myers to Bonita Springs. Lots of trees in some of those places, too. When I moved up to Tenn. I was delighted by all the birds and the fireflies as well. My property now has 21 mature trees and I am infested by squirrels, much to my dog's chagrin. There seems to be a cutoff point of somewhere in Central Florida for robins. They don't like it that hot.

Up in Mass. I actually had a baby squirrel for awhile. We think his mom was killed by a car. He walked right up to my son who was playing ball in the backyard.

I think where we lived in Dade City was the cutoff for robins. I'd get HUGE flocks every winter. We had fireflies there, too. There don't seem to be any fireflies south of that area anymore. Squirrels in Florida are the small type, not the big suckers you have up there!

[Sweetbottoms]

Originally Posted by gypsychic

I think where we lived in Dade City was the cutoff for robins. I'd get HUGE flocks every winter. We had fireflies there, too. There don't seem to be any fireflies south of that area anymore. Squirrels in Florida are the small type, not the big suckers you have up there!

I haven't seen fireflies since I was a kid in SWFL. We had a huge field behind our house and we'd seem them out there but I can remember the huge spraying planes grazing our roofs at 5 am back then and slowly but surely I remember not seeing them much anymore.. Now I don't think I've seen any since I've been back

[hiknapster]

It also seems to be hotter, now. So I wonder if that is the reason they are no longer around. Or a combination thereof!

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by gypsychic

There will usually be more birds where there are more trees - do you live in an area with not too many trees? In my neighborhood in Sarasota, I have loads of squirrels, cardinals, blue jays, titmice (birds) egrets, herons, woodpeckers, cranes and many others. I love living where there is a variety of wildlife. Robins are not usually seen this far south in the winter, but I used to get HUGE flocks of them at our country home in Dade City (north of Tampa)

I'm in northeast Florida and that, along with chickadees, is a pretty good description of the wildlife we get, too. The robins tend to migrate through here in March, along with huge flocks of cedar waxwings. They all hang around for awhile, resting and eating berries and whatnot, then move on. I kind of miss having robins year-round, but the mockingbirds help make up for that.

Like the OP, I too like Florida squirrels, with their white underbellies and smaller size. After moving to Florida, I was immediately impressed with how mellow they are compared to Colorado squirrels--much less aggressive, though they will occasionally get into the birdfeeder. I avoid that problem by using safflower seed in the feeder, which they don't like.

I haven't seen fireflies since I was a little kid.

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by BlueWillowPlate

I'm in northeast Florida and that, along with chickadees, is a pretty good description of the wildlife we get, too. The robins tend to migrate through here in March, along with huge flocks of cedar waxwings. They all hang around for awhile, resting and eating berries and whatnot, then move on. I kind of miss having robins year-round, but the mockingbirds help make up for that.

Like the OP, I too like Florida squirrels, with their white underbellies and smaller size. After moving to Florida, I was immediately impressed with how mellow they are compared to Colorado squirrels--much less aggressive, though they will occasionally get into the birdfeeder. I avoid that problem by using safflower seed in the feeder, which they don't like.

I haven't seen fireflies since I was a little kid.

I miss the little chickadees - we had those in Dade City, too - I love their little calls! As much as I love living here, I do miss the more wildlife I had further north in Florida, especially living rurally. There are trade-offs for everything, though.