December 19, 2005
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.
This white egret was perched on a grate in downtown
Orlando's Lake Lucerne.
Orlando and Central Florida travel stories:
Orlando Off the Beaten
Path
A visit to the Orange
County Regional History Center
Exploring Orlando's African
American Heritage at the Well's Built Museum
A lovely evening walk around downtown
Orlando's Lake Eola
Visual delights served
up on the Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour
A walking tour through quaint
historic Winter Park
Our high-speed adrenaline adventure
at Boggy Creek Airboat Tours
Our picnic lunch by the Kissimmee
waterfront
Exploring picturesque Mount Dora
on the "Herbie Express"
Orlando's Loch Haven Park:
Center of culture and arts
Exploring downtown Orlando's
historic neighbourhoods and parks
Learning about citrus at
Florida's Natural Visitor Center
Architectural and natural
beauty at the Bok Historic Sanctuary
Central Florida: a haven
for naturalists and plant lovers
Central Florida's wildlife:
surprising ecological diversity..
Driving home through St. Augustine:
the oldest city in the US
Articles on Golf in Central Florida:
A first-hand
look at ChampionsGate
A first-hand look at the
Royal St. Cloud Links
A first-hand look at Timacuan
Golf and Country Club
Attending the Father
Son Challenge at ChampionsGate
An overview of golf in the Orlando area:
Orlando- Golf's Ultimate Theme Park
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