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BCR 31.

Peninsular Florida

Swallow-tailed Kite. Photo: © Jeff Higgott

The northern portion of Peninsular Florida is a transitional zone where the pine and bottomland hardwood elements of the Coastal Plain begin to merge with the tropical elements of south Florida. Many of the important pine and bottomland birds of the Coastal Plain, including Red-cockaded Woodpecker and Swallow-tailed Kite, extend into this area. The central scrub oak Lake Wales Ridge is a center of endemism that includes all of the world's Florida Scrub Jays. Colonies of Wood Stork, Glossy Ibis, and other herons and egrets are found throughout the region, while coastal islands support important continental breeding populations of Brown Pelicans, various terns, and Black Skimmers. Farther south, in the subtropical zone of the state, normally frost-free climate creates conditions for mangroves, everglades, and tropical hammocks, tying this area more closely to the Bahamas and Caribbean than to the rest of the United States. Snail Kite, Short-tailed Hawk, and Limpkin breed in interior wetlands, with Mangrove Cuckoo and Black-whiskered Vireo in coastal mangroves. One of the greatest wading bird concentrations in the world is in the Everglades. White-crowned Pigeons inhabit the Florida Keys, and the only Brown Noddy, Sooty Tern, and Magnificent Frigatebird breeding site in the country is on the Dry Tortugas. Wintering waterfowl abound in coastal waters, including large numbers of Lesser Scaup, Ring-necked Duck, and Green-winged Teal. Three species of waterfowl, the endemic Florida subspecies of Mottled Duck, Wood Duck, and Fulvous Whistling-Duck, also breed in the area. Most of the remaining nesting Snowy Plovers in the Southeast occur along Florida's Gulf Coast. Extraordinary numbers of wintering and in-transit shorebirds also use the region, particularly Short-billed Dowitchers, but also including Piping Plover, Dunlin, and Red Knot.