East Florida
Prominent features of this region include the Atlantic Coast and its associated barrier islands, the freshwater marshes of the St. Johns River, the vast grasslands of the Kissimmee Prairie and the ancient sand dunes of the Lake Wales Ridge. Birds, butterflies and other wildlife depend upon the upland hardwoods, pine flatwoods, scrub, wetlands, salt marshes, swamps, rivers and pristine beaches found here. Whether you explore by foot, car, bicycle, or boat, there are truly amazing wildlife opportunities awaiting you.
photo: Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge
Exploring East Florida
The East Section’s woods and waters offer species of interest such as Florida Scrub-Jay, Crested Caracara, Florida Burrowing Owl, Limpkin, Painted Bunting, Roseate Spoonbill, Short-tailed Hawk, Snail Kite and Wood Stork. Impressive numbers of ducks overwinter at places like Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and T. M. Goodwin Waterfowl Management Area (among others); These are joined by year-round residents like Florida Mottled Duck, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck and Fulvous Whistling-Duck. The coast, lakes and waterways teem with wading birds, sandpipers, plovers, gulls and terns; pelagic species like gannets, shearwaters and storm-petrels can be spied from shore at times. Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge protects one of the largest staging areas for migratory Swallow-tailed Kites. Two of the last remaining strongholds for the Florida Grasshopper Sparrow, found nowhere else in the world, are Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park and Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area.
