Southeastern Mixed Forests (NA0413)

Blogs posted from this ecoregion:

The ecoregion extends a great distance from north to south, more so that any other ecoregion in eastern North America. It essentially constitutes the piedmont area, intermediate between the higher Appalachian ranges to the west and the coastal plain ecoregions to the east and to the south. It reaches the Atlantic coast in eastern MD and eastern VA. It is the largest ecoregion within the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests major habitat type.

From the north it begins with a most minute extension into Pennsylvania, and then continues south through Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and just barely extends into Louisiana (reaching the Mississippi River in MS and LA), and Tennessee.

Adjacent ecoregions include the following (proceeding clockwise) : i) at the extreme northern end, in Maryland and in Pennsylvania, the ecoregion transitions into the Northeastern Coastal Forests (NA0411), the boundary a few km north of my home in Montgomery Country, MD; ii) the adjacent coastal plain of Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina is the Middle Atlantic Coastal Forests (NA0517); iii) the ecoregion to the south in the states of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana is the Southeastern Conifer Forests (NA0529); iv) to the west in Louisiana and most of Mississippi are the Mississippi Lowland Forests (NA0409); v) to the north in northwestern Mississippi and northwestern Alabama are the Central U.S. Hardwood Forests (NA0404); vi) to the north in most of Alabama and in a small part of Georgia we find the Appalachian Mixed Mesophytic Forests (NA0402); and finally vii) the western border of the ecoregion in most of Georgia and in all of South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland transitions abruptly into the higher-altitude Appalachian Blue-Ridge Forests (NA0403).


NA0413

Description of the Ecoregion

A detailed description of the ecoregion can be found at WWF’s site (the map above is a screen shot from that Wildfinder site). There may also be additional information to be found on this ecoregion’s page at Wikipedia.

The natural vegetation of this ecoregion is dominated by oak-hickory-pine forests. The common pines of the ecoregion include a number of species; they have generally have become more important as a consequence of human alteration of the original vegetation. WWF estimates that 99% of the ecoregion has been converted or highly degraded so this is one of the most heavily altered ecoregions in North America, and one of the most densely settled.

WWF identifies 9 fairly intact representative blocks of habitat, occurring in NC, SC, MS, AL, GA, and LA.


Birds of the Ecoregion

The characteristic avifauna of the ecoregion has been determined by me (see list below). The total number of species considered characteristic is 254. A high proportion of them are only wintering (67 spp.) or only migrants (56 species). The numbers of wintering and migrating species are inflated considerably by the inclusion of the coastal portion of the ecoregion in MD and VA; otherwise the ecoregion is strictly interior.

There are no bird species that are exclusive or near-exclusive to this ecoregion. My general impression is that from an avian perspective, most of the ecoregion is fairly well differentiated, with bird range boundaries corresponding to ecoregion transitions to the coastal plain to the east and to the higher altitude Appalachian Blue-Ridge Forests to the west. In the southernmost part of the ecoregion, there are less clear distinctions from surrounding ecoregions.

Two areas of the ecoregion seem atypical from an avian perspective and result in inclusion of a lot of species which would not otherwise be characteristic of the ecoregion. Firstly, the northernmost extremity of the otherwise completely interior ecoregion dips to the coast in a small area of Maryland and Virginia; thus many coastal species (particularly migrant and wintering ducks and shorebirds) get added. Secondly, having most of Mississippi in this ecoregion results in including many wintering species that are more typical of more western ecoregions. 

Resources for the Ecoregion Birder

The following resources would be of value to the birder traveling to this ecoregion:

  • For Maryland, at least for breeding birds, the 2nd Atlas of the Breeding Birds (2010) is an invaluable resource. The Atlas uses physiographic regions which do not correspond particularly well with this WWF ecoregion. In MD, this ecoregion would be more or less equivalent to the southern part of the Piedmont, the Upper Chesapeake (west of the Chesapeake only), and most of the Western Shore (excluding southeastern portion).

Characteristic Species of the Ecoregion

My list below of the “characteristic species” of the ecoregion (see an explanation on the About page) are those that are of regular occurrence and thus excludes very rare, or accidental species. The species are classed as residents (r), summer breeders (s), migrants (m), wintering (w), or peripheral (x), that is, occurring in the ecoregion but only on its periphery and more characteristic of an adjacent ecoregion. The peripheral species are not included in the ecoregion total.

The list for this ecoregion includes 254 species, of which 66 are resident year round, 65 are summer breeders, 56 are only to be found during migration, and 67 are wintering species.

Because of my particular interest in the MD part of this ecoregion (where I reside), I also note below the characteristics species of the MD portion of the ecoregion, its most northerly extension. Apart from consulting distribution maps in Sibley guide to determine each species status, I reviewed 2010-2016 eBird records grouped for the following counties, which more or less are fully within the ecoregion: Anne Arundel, Prince Georges, Harford, and Charles.

  • Greater White-fronted Goose x
  • Snow Goose w [MD w]
  • Ross’s Goose x
  • Brant x [MD x]
  • Canada Goose r [MD r]
  • Cackling Goose x [MD x]
  • Mute Swan r [MD r]
  • Tundra Swan w [MD w]
  • Wood Duck r [MD r]
  • Gadwall w [MD w]
  • American Wigeon w [MD w]
  • American Black Duck w [MD r]
  • Mallard r [MD r]
  • Blue-winged Teal m [MD m]
  • Northern Shoveler w [MD w]
  • Northern Pintail w [MD w]
  • Green-winged Teal w [MD w]
  • Canvasback w [MD w]
  • Redhead w [MD w]
  • Ring-necked Duck w [MD w]
  • Greater Scaup w [MD w]
  • Lesser Scaup w [MD w]
  • Harlequin Duck x [MD x]
  • Surf Scoter w [MD w]
  • White-winged Scoter w [MD w]
  • Black Scoter w [MD w]
  • Long-tailed Duck w [MD w]
  • Bufflehead w [MD w]
  • Common Goldeneye w [MD w]
  • Hooded Merganser w [MD w]
  • Common Merganser w [MD w]
  • Red-breasted Merganser w [MD w]
  • Ruddy Duck w [MD w]
  • Northern Bobwhite r [MD r]
  • Wild Turkey r [MD r]
  • Red-throated Loon w [MD w]
  • Common Loon w [MD w]
  • Pied-billed Grebe r [MD r]
  • Horned Grebe w [MD w]
  • Red-necked Grebe x [MD x]
  • Wood Stork m
  • Double-crested Cormorant r [MD r]
  • Great Cormorant w [MD w]
  • Anhinga s
  • American Bittern w [MD m]
  • Least Bittern s [MD s]
  • Great Blue Heron r [MD r]
  • Great Egret r [MD s]
  • Snowy Egret s [MD s]
  • Little Blue Heron s [MD s]
  • Tricolored Heron m [MD x]
  • Cattle Egret s [MD s]
  • Green Heron s [MD s]
  • Black-crowned Night-Heron r [MD s]
  • Yellow-crowned Night-Heron s [MD s]
  • White Ibis s
  • Glossy Ibis s [MD s]
  • Roseate Spoonbill x
  • Black Vulture r [MD r]
  • Turkey Vulture r [MD r]
  • Osprey s [MD s]
  • Swallow-tailed Kite s
  • Mississippi Kite s [MD x]
  • Bald Eagle r [MD r]
  • Northern Harrier w [MD w]
  • Sharp-shinned Hawk w [MD w]
  • Cooper’s Hawk r [MD r]
  • Red-shouldered Hawk r [MD r]
  • Broad-winged Hawk s [MD m]
  • Red-tailed Hawk r [MD r]
  • King Rail s [MD s]
  • Virginia Rail w [MD r]
  • Sora m [MD s]
  • Purple Gallinule x
  • Common Gallinule s [MD s]
  • American Coot w [MD w]
  • Sandhill Crane m
  • Black-necked Stilt x
  • American Avocet x [MD x]
  • Black-bellied Plover m [MD m]
  • American Golden-Plover m [MD m]
  • Semipalmated Plover m [MD m]
  • Killdeer r [MD r]
  • Spotted Sandpiper m [MD m]
  • Solitary Sandpiper m [MD m]
  • Greater Yellowlegs m [MD m]
  • Willet x [MD x]
  • Lesser Yellowlegs m [MD m]
  • Upland Sandpiper m
  • Ruddy Turnstone w [MD m]
  • Stilt Sandpiper m [MD m]
  • Sanderling w [MD m]
  • Dunlin w [MD m]
  • Purple Sandpiper x [MD x]
  • Baird’s Sandpiper x [MD x]
  • Least Sandpiper w [MD m]
  • White-rumped Sandpiper m [MD m]
  • Buff-breasted Sandpiper x [MD x]
  • Pectoral Sandpiper m [MD m]
  • Semipalmated Sandpiper m [MD m]
  • Western Sandpiper m [MD m]
  • Short-billed Dowitcher m [MD m]
  • Long-billed Dowitcher x
  • Wilson’s Snipe w [MD w]
  • American Woodcock r [MD w]
  • Bonaparte’s Gull w [MD w]
  • Laughing Gull s [MD s]
  • Ring-billed Gull w [MD r]
  • Herring Gull w [MD r]
  • Iceland Gull x [MD x]
  • Lesser Black-backed Gull x [MD x]
  • Great Black-backed Gull r [MD r]
  • Least Tern s [MD s]
  • Caspian Tern m [MD m]
  • Black Tern m [MD m]
  • Common Tern m [MD m]
  • Forster’s Tern m [MD m
  • Royal Tern x [MD m]
  • Rock Pigeon r [MD r]
  • Eurasian Collared-Dove r
  • Common Ground-Dove x
  • Mourning Dove r [MD r]
  • Yellow-billed Cuckoo s [MD s]
  • Black-billed Cuckoo m [MD m]
  • Barn Owl r [MD x]
  • Eastern Screech-Owl r [MD r]
  • Great Horned Owl r [MD r]
  • Snowy Owl x [MD x]
  • Barred Owl r [MD r]
  • Short-eared Owl x [MD x]
  • Common Nighthawk s [MD m]
  • Chuck-will’s-widow s [MD s]
  • Eastern Whip-poor-will s [MD s]
  • Chimney Swift s [MD s]
  • Ruby-throated Hummingbird s [MD s]
  • Rufous Hummingbird x
  • Belted Kingfisher r [MD r]
  • Red-headed Woodpecker r [MD r]
  • Red-bellied Woodpecker r [MD r]
  • Yellow-bellied Sapsucker w [MD w]
  • Downy Woodpecker r [MD r]
  • Hairy Woodpecker r [MD r]
  • Red-cockaded Woodpecker r
  • Northern Flicker r [MD r]
  • Pileated Woodpecker r [MD r]
  • American Kestrel r [MD r]
  • Merlin m [MD w]
  • Peregrine Falcon m [MD r]
  • Olive-sided Flycatcher m
  • Eastern Wood-Pewee s [MD s]
  • Yellow-bellied Flycatcher m [MD x]
  • Acadian Flycatcher s [MD s]
  • Alder Flycatcher m [MD x]
  • Willow Flycatcher s [MD s]
  • Least Flycatcher m [MD m]
  • Eastern Phoebe s [MD s]
  • Great Crested Flycatcher s [MD s]
  • Eastern Kingbird s [MD s]
  • Loggerhead Shrike r
  • White-eyed Vireo s [MD s]
  • Yellow-throated Vireo s [MD s]
  • Blue-headed Vireo s [MD m]
  • Warbling Vireo s [MD s]
  • Philadelphia Vireo m [MD m]
  • Red-eyed Vireo s [MD s]
  • Blue Jay r [MD r]
  • American Crow r [MD r]
  • Fish Crow r [MD r]
  • Common Raven x [MD x]
  • Horned Lark r [MD r]
  • Purple Martin s [MD s]
  • Tree Swallow s [MD s]
  • Northern Rough-winged Swallow s [MD s]
  • Bank Swallow m [MD s]
  • Cliff Swallow s [MD s]
  • Barn Swallow s [MD s]
  • Carolina Chickadee r [MD r]
  • Tufted Titmouse r [MD r]
  • Red-breasted Nuthatch w [MD w]
  • White-breasted Nuthatch r [MD r]
  • Brown-headed Nuthatch r
  • Brown Creeper w [MD w]
  • House Wren r [MD s]
  • Winter Wren w [MD w]
  • Sedge Wren w
  • Marsh Wren w [MD s]
  • Carolina Wren r [MD r]
  • Blue-gray Gnatcatcher s [MD s]
  • Golden-crowned Kinglet w [MD w]
  • Ruby-crowned Kinglet w [MD w]
  • Eastern Bluebird r [MD r]
  • Veery m [MD m]
  • Gray-cheeked Thrush m [MD m]
  • Bicknell’s Thrush x
  • Swainson’s Thrush m [MD m]
  • Hermit Thrush w [MD w]
  • Wood Thrush s [MD s]
  • American Robin r [MD r]
  • Gray Catbird s [MD s]
  • Brown Thrasher r [MD r]
  • Northern Mockingbird r [MD r]
  • European Starling r [MD r]
  • American Pipit w [MD w]
  • Cedar Waxwing w [MD r]
  • Lapland Longspur w
  • Snow Bunting x [MD x]
  • Ovenbird s [MD s]
  • Worm-eating Warbler s [MD s]
  • Louisiana Waterthrush s [MD s]
  • Northern Waterthrush m [MD m]
  • Golden-winged Warbler m [MD m]
  • Blue-winged Warbler m [MD m]
  • Black-and-white Warbler s [MD m]
  • Prothonotary Warbler s [MD s]
  • Swainson’s Warbler s
  • Tennessee Warbler m [MD m]
  • Orange-crowned Warbler w [MD x]
  • Nashville Warbler m [MD m]
  • Connecticut Warbler m [MD m]
  • Mourning Warbler m [MD m]
  • Kentucky Warbler s [MD s]
  • Common Yellowthroat s [MD s]
  • Hooded Warbler s [MD s]
  • American Redstart s [MD s]
  • Cape May Warbler m [MD m]
  • Cerulean Warbler m [MD s]
  • Northern Parula s [MD s]
  • Magnolia Warbler m [MD m]
  • Bay-breasted Warbler m [MD m]
  • Blackburnian Warbler m [MD m]
  • Yellow Warbler s [MD s]
  • Chestnut-sided Warbler m [MD m]
  • Blackpoll Warbler m [MD m]
  • Black-throated Blue Warbler m [MD m]
  • Palm Warbler w [MD m]
  • Pine Warbler r [MD s]
  • Yellow-rumped Warbler w [MD m]
  • Yellow-throated Warbler s [MD s]
  • Prairie Warbler s [MD s]
  • Black-throated Green Warbler m [MD m]
  • Canada Warbler m [MD m]
  • Wilson’s Warbler m [MD m]
  • Yellow-breasted Chat s [MD s]
  • Eastern Towhee r [MD r]
  • Bachman’s Sparrow r
  • American Tree Sparrow x [MD w]
  • Chipping Sparrow r [MD r]
  • Field Sparrow r [MD r]
  • Vesper Sparrow w [MD m]
  • Savannah Sparrow w [MD w]
  • Grasshopper Sparrow s [MD s]
  • Henslow’s Sparrow x
  • Le Conte’s Sparrow w
  • Fox Sparrow w [MD w]
  • Song Sparrow r [MD r]
  • Lincoln’s Sparrow m [MD m]
  • Swamp Sparrow w [MD w]
  • White-throated Sparrow w [MD w]
  • White-crowned Sparrow w [MD w]
  • Dark-eyed Junco w [MD w]
  • Summer Tanager s [MD s]
  • Scarlet Tanager s [MD s]
  • Northern Cardinal r [MD r]
  • Rose-breasted Grosbeak m [MD m]
  • Blue Grosbeak s [MD s]
  • Indigo Bunting s [MD s]
  • Painted Bunting x
  • Dickcissel s [MD x]
  • Bobolink m [MD m]
  • Red-winged Blackbird r [MD r]
  • Eastern Meadowlark r [MD r]
  • Rusty Blackbird w [MD w]
  • Brewer’s Blackbird w
  • Common Grackle r [MD r]
  • Brown-headed Cowbird r [MD r]
  • Orchard Oriole s [MD s]
  • Baltimore Oriole s [MD s]
  • House Finch r [MD r]
  • Purple Finch w [MD w]
  • Pine Siskin w [MD w]
  • American Goldfinch r [MD r]
  • House Sparrow r [MD r]

Resident breeders (r) 66 [MD 61]

Summer breeders (s) 65 [MD 62]

Migrants (m) 56 [MD 58]

Wintering (w) 67 [MD 51]

Peripheral (x) [not in Total] 28 [MD 22]

TOTAL 254 [MD 232]

 

DJG: 148 spp. [MD 142] (March 31, 2017)

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