White-tailed deer like to forage for mast such as acorns from the trees in hardwood forests. These shy herbivores also eat leaves, twigs, stems, flowers, fruits and mushrooms, browsing in open areas near mature forests, where they can seek refuge at the first sign of danger. They consume about 3% of their body weight every day and their antlers can grow as fast as ¼ inch per-day!

Fox squirrels, a species of special concern, are harder to spot than the more common gray squirrel. They’re large and have dark faces with white ears and noses. Their name is believed to come from the unique way they run, which is similar to a small fox. Pine seeds are the fox squirrel’s favorite treat. All squirrels have impressive memories. They hide their food in thousands of different locations, and then can recall each spot later on.

Raccoons prefer to live in moist woodlands and are extremely intelligent. In fact, they have a higher IQ than most cats and dogs! In the forest, raccoons eat fruits, plant material, eggs, small animals, amphibians and crustaceans. They live in dens in hollowed trees, burrows made by other animals or rock crevices. They're good swimmers, excellent climbers and can easily withstand a drop of as much as 35 or 40 feet!

Red Hills Salamanders are extremely rare, only discovered in the 1960s. They breathe through their skin and live almost their entire lives in a network of moist, underground burrows in cliffsides. Believed to exist on only about 60,000 acres in Alabama’s Red Hills region, the salamander’s habitat range crosses about 20,000 acres of Rayonier forests. When our foresters come across potential Red Hills Salamander habitat, they will mark and protect the area, not harvesting in the area at all.

This beautiful bird with its deeply-forked tail is famous for its acrobatics. It can glide through the air with the slightest beat of its wings, doing a lot of the steering with its tail. It can even roll and dive backwards while in flight!  Swallow-Tailed Kites often nest in the trees in buffer zones Rayonier protects along waterways. They eat dragonflies, amphibians, and other birds, often snatching them from the treetops. They also eat stinging insects like red ants and wasps.

With its beautiful red crest, this is one bird that stands out in the forest. At an average length of 16 ½ inches in adulthood, it is believed to be the largest woodpecker in North America. Despite it’s bright coloring, you may hear this bird before you see it. It loudly pecks rectangular holes into rotting wood, searching for a snack of  insects. The woodpecker also makes cavities in live or dead trees for nesting.

These majestic trees live hundreds of years, easily growing in the forest because they don’t mind the shade of other trees. Unlike most oaks, they’re almost evergreen, losing their leaves for just a few weeks in springtime. Their acorns provide nourishment to birds, deer, bears, turkeys, squirrels and many other species. While Rayonier doesn’t harvest them today, their wood once was used to build ships including “Old Ironsides,” which famously withstood cannon fire during the War of 1812.