UCF’s Arboretum is their neighborhood

Roger Simmons,

At a time when many birds have left the area for summer, it’s good to visit the year-round residents at the UCF Arboretum.

Granted, they’re not a very exotic group – Red-shouldered Hawks, Northern Mockingbirds, Eastern Bluebirds, Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers and different woodpeckers. But it’s always great to be able to spot them and photograph them in the backwoods of campus.

Here are some images from trips to UCF from the week of July 23, including one subject who didn’t have any feathers.

A Red-shouldered Hawk seems unfazed by a Northern Mockingbird trying to chase it away from this pine tree at the UCF Arboretum in July 2023.
A Red-shouldered Hawk lets nearby birds know who’s in the area at the UCF Arboretum in July 2023.
A juvenile Eastern Bluebird pauses for a break on a branch at the UCF Arboretum.
This juvenile Eastern Bluebird is starting to get its adult colors at the UCF Arboretum in July 2023.
This Eastern Bluebird looks especially dark after dousing itself in some water to cool off at the UCF Arboretum in July 2023.
A male Eastern Bluebird overlooks the UCF Arboretum near sunset in July 2023.
Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers, like this one at the UCF Arboretum in July 2023, are also know as “Little Mockingbirds.”
This Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher doesn’t care if things look up or down for it at the UCF Arboretum in July 2023.
The Merlin App says this is a Northern Mockingbird, but it must be a young adult since its beak still has yellow. Taken at UCF Arboretum in July 2023.
There are lots of Northern Mockingbirds across the UCF Arboretum in July 2023.
A Red-bellied Woodpecker has an unmistakable profile even when in a shadow of a tree at the UCF Arboretum in July 2023.
This Gopher Tortoise at the UCF Arboretum in July 2023 is probably the rarest species at the site. Listed as “threatened,” it is one of five North American tortoise species and the only found found east of the Mississippi River.
Birds UCF Arboretum

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