Visitors and staff observe flora and fauna from the boardwalk on a daily basis. Below are some of the highlights reported during the week of August 23 - 29, 2023!

To find out what to expect in this season, check out our Seasonal Nature Viewing Opportunities page.

Birds:

Black-bellied Whistling Duck
Great Egret
Little Blue Heron
White Ibis
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Red-shouldered Hawk
Short-tailed Hawk
Osprey
Limpkin
Mourning Dove
Common Ground Dove
Barred Owl
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Great-crested Flycatcher
Acadian Flycatcher
White-eyed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Barn Swallow
Loggerhead Shrike
Blue Jay
Tufted Titmouse
Brown-headed Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Carolina Wren
Northern Mockingbird
Northern Waterthrush
Louisiana Waterthrush
Prothonotary Warbler
American Redstart
Northern Parula
Black-and-White Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Ovenbird
Worm-eating Warbler
Pine Warbler
Swainson's Warbler
Northern Cardinal
American Crow
Common Grackle
Boat-tailed Grackle


Butterflies:

Zebra Longwing
Gulf Fritillary
Ruddy Daggerwing
Common Buckeye
White Peacock
Viceroy
Queen
Soldier
Monarch
Black Swallowtail
Palamedes Swallowtail
Tiger Swallowtail
Brazillian Skipper
Cloudless Sulphur
Orange-barred Sulphur
Little Yellow
Great Southern White
Cassius Blue
Ceranus Blue
Little Metalmark
Pearl Crescent
Phaon Crescent
Tropical Checkered Skipper
Least Skipper
Southern Skipperling
Eufala Skipper
Brazillian Skipper

Other Insects:
Giant Spinx Moth larva
Leaf-footed Bug
Band-winged Dragonlet
 

Reptiles and Amphibians:

Carolina Green Anole
Cuban Brown Anole
Five-lined Skink
Alligator 
Pig Frog
Leopard Frog
Green Treefrog
Squirrel Treefrog
Little Grass Frog
Cuban Tree Treefrog

 

Mammals:

Raccoon
Gray Squirrel
White-tailed Deer
 

Blooming Plants:

Scarlet Hibiscus  (Hibiscus coccineus)
Virgina Saltmarsh Mallow  (Kosteletzkya pentacarpos)
Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata)
Swamp Lily  (Crinum americanum)
Tropical Royalblue Waterlily (Nymphaea elegans)
Lanceleaf Arrowhead  (Sagittaria lancifolia)
Climbing Hempvine  (Mikania scandens)
Carolina Climbing Aster  (Symphyotrichum carolinianum)
Southeastern Sunflower (Helianthus agrestis)
Moonflower/Tropical White Morning Glory  (Ipomoea alba)
Elderberry (Sambucus nigra)
Eastern False Dragonhead (Physostegia purpura)
Blackeyed Susan  (Rudbeckia hirta)
Pale Meadowbeauty  (Rhexia mariana)
Skyflower (Hydrolea corymbosa)
Peelbark St. John's Wort (Hypericum fasciculatum)
Tickseed (Coreopsis leavenworthii)
Beggartick  (Bidens alba)
Hairypod Cowpea  (Vigna luteola)
Winged Loosestrife  (Lythrum alatum)
Ghost Orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii)  
Greater Yellowspike Orchid (Polystachya concreta)
Florida Star Orchid (Epidendrum floridense)
Night - scented Orchid (Epidendrum nocturnum)
Cabbage Palm (Sabal palmetto)

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