Birding Central Florida's Pine Forests

Lower Wekiva River Preserve

I love pine forests. I'm not sure why, but I enjoy them all.  Florida's pine forests, though, at least the ones I visit here in Central Florida, are sometimes very different from the ones I used to enjoy in Maryland.  Many of our pine forests are scrub and sandhill habitats. In scrub habitats, you'll find sand pines with scrub oaks and palmetto bushes.  Sandhill habitats often occur near scrub and contain Longleaf Pines and wiregrass. Even though pine scrub forests receive a lot of rain, they are found in sandy soils, so they actually quite arid. When I go birding after a good rain, I often go to one of these pine forests, because I'm likely to stay dry on the sandy trails. But Florida scrub is threatend by development and, oddly enough, fire prevention, since the habitat is maintained in part by fires. I won't even try to cover all the birds you can find in these forests, but I'll touch on the highlights.

Eastern Bluebird
Chuluota Wilderness Area

Passerines
First, I love the passerines that inhabit these pine forests.  Of course, most of these are not limited to Florida pine forests, but they are my favorite places to find them. I suppose I should start with the Pine Warbler; over the last couple weeks I've begun to hear them singing, which I find truly enjoyable.

Pine Warbler
Econ River Wilderness Area

Along with Pine Warblers, I enjoy finding Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, and Brown-headed Nuthatches,which make a lovely racket all year long.

Carolina Chickadee
Lower Wekiva River Preserve

Tufted Titmouse
Geneva Wilderness Area

Brown-headed Nuthatch at Cavity
Econ River Wilderness Area

Then of course, there are the sparrows.  Eastern Towhee are frequently heard and seen, and we get to enjoy a subspecies with straw-colored eyes.  In some pine forests, you might also find Bachman's Sparrows--a plain but handsome sparrow of southeastern open pine forests.

Eastern Towhee
Econ River Wilderness Area

Bachman's Sparrow
Hal Scot Preserve

And of course, I should mention the Florida Scrub Jay, endemic to Florida scrub habitat.

Florida Scrub Jay
Merritt Island NWR Scrub Ridge Trail

 Woodpeckers
Second, what would a pine forest be without woodpeckers?  Central Florida's pine forests are great places to find the very common Red-bellied Woodpecker, but you can also find two threatened or near-threatened species of woodpeckers: the Red-headed Woodpecker and the Red-cockaded Woodpecker. And during the winter time, you may also see a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker or two.

Red-cockaded Woodpecker
Three Lakes WMA

Red-headed Woodpecker
Lower Wekiva River Preserve

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Econ River Wilderness Area

Raptors
Third, I always enjoy finding birds of prey, especially hawks and falcons. O course, most raptors cover large areas, so they are not limited to Pine forests, but I consider it a special treat to see them here.

Cooper's Hawk
Econ River Wilderness Area

Merlin
Lake Apopka North Shore Restoration Area

American Kestrel
River Lakes Conservation Area, Moccasin Island Tract