Central Florida's Wildlife: An Abundance of Diversity
When you go to Florida, wildlife confronts you everywhere.
Especially all the exotic birds fascinated me, often you come up
close to subtropical bird species while playing golf or
picnicking in a public park.
We saw this wood stork at the Royal St. Cloud Golf Links.
Central Florida is actually a much more interesting destination
for naturalists than I would ever have expected. Both Florida's
plant life and wildlife are surprisingly diverse and Florida is
the 3rd most ecologically diverse state after Hawaii and
California.
It is a nearly flat lowland that gently slopes to the sea on the
east and west coasts. This lowland has unique physical features
that are associated with the diverse ecosystems that exist here.
The predominantly low-lying topography was created by
fluctuating sea levels over time. Coastal features include
dunes, barrier islands, lagoons and tidal rivers, which were
formed by tides, currents and winds.
This white egret was perched on top of the Big Toho Pier.
The interior of Central Florida is characterized by swamps,
marshlands and inland lakes, a haven for birds. South of Orlando
is the Lake Wales Ridge, a ridge of sand hills paralleled by
flatlands and sandy rolling hills. This ridge used to be an
island in earlier geological times when ocean levels were
higher. As a result many of the species that exist here are
unique to this area.
My husband took a picture of this bird just as its neck arched
forward to catch a mosquito, unfortunately the picture of the
catch didn't turn out.
The Florida Birding Trail (http://www.floridabirdingtrail.com)
is a collection of sites throughout Florida selected for their
excellent bird watching or bird education opportunities. This
2000-mile trail is designed to conserve and enhance Florida's
bird habitat and promotes bird watching activities,
environmental education and economic opportunity.
Florida truly is a birder's paradise, due to its unique
geographical location between tropical and temperate regions.
Florida is also a destination for many migratory birds from the
north, some birds fly 3,000 miles to get here. In total Florida
is home to more than 470 verified species of birds. A great
article about the different species of birds found in Florida
can be found at the Florida's Birders List, provided by Visit
Florida.
We observed this colourful duck on our outing to the Hawk's
Landing Golf Course.
Some of the unique birds to watch in Florida include the
following:
American Avocet Limpkin American White Pelican Mottled Duck
Anhinga Pine Warbler Bald Eagle Purple Gallinule Black-Bellied
Whistling Duck Roseate Spoonbill Black-Necked Stilt Sandhill
Crane Crested Caracara Snail Kite Eastern Bluebird
Swallow-Tailed Kite Florida Scrub-Jay Wood Stork
The only alligator we saw was a stuffed version at Boggy Creek
Airboat Tours.
Naturally, one of the most well-known Florida animals is the
American alligator. And although this time we didn't see any
(except for a gator tail sticking out from under some shrubs on
our Swamp Buggy Tour), alligators have made an incredible
comeback after they were headed for extinction due to
overhunting earlier in the 20th century. Alligators were taken
off the federal endangered species list in 1987, and on
particularly warm days they can be seen sunning themselves on
the edges of ponds and waterways. Timacuan Golf Course was where
we saw these sandhill cranes, they are extremely tame and
definitely not afraid of human beings.
Different species of fish also exist in Central Florida, a fact
that makes it a popular destination with anglers. The species
include large-mouth bass, bluegill, redear sunfish, sunshine
bass, speckled perch, catfish and a variety of other sweetwater
fish.
These beautifully coloured fox squirrels were playing catch with
each other at the Timacuan Golf Course.
The wildlife of Florida is rich and varied, yet most of us are
familiar with only a dozen or so species. Florida's amphibians
include amphiumas, mudpuppies, newts, salamanders, sirens, frogs
and toads. Kissimmee was also where we saw this lizard.
Many interesting mammals can also be found in Florida, including
armadillos, bears, beavers, bobcats, deer, feral pigs, foxes,
manatees, minks, moles, opossums, otters, panthers, pocket
gophers, rabbits, raccoons, seals, shrews, skunks, squirrels,
and weasels.
Of course reptiles don't only include the American Alligator,
but also anoles, geckos, lizards, skinks and turtles. Hobby
naturalists will really enjoy their getaway to Central Florida.
A wonderful summary of Florida's wildlife can be found in a
Wildlife Calendar at Visit Florida.