Visitors and staff observe flora and fauna from the boardwalk on a daily basis. Below are some of the highlights reported since July 18, 2024!

To find out what to expect in this season, check out our Seasonal Nature Viewing Opportunities page. Click here to download a checklist of birds around the seasons.

Birds:
Black -bellied Whistling Duck
Anhingha
Great Egret
Great Blue Heron
Little Blue Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Swallow-tailed Kite
Red-shouldered Hawk
Limpkin
Mourning Dove
Common Ground Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Barred Owl
Eastern Screech Owl
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Great-crested Flycatcher
White-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
Tufted Titmouse
Brown-headed Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Northern Mockingbird
Northern Cardinal
Common Grackle
Boat-tailed Grackle



Butterflies:
Great Southern White
Barred Yellow
Cloudless Sulphur
Little Yellow
Orange Barred Sulphur
Large Orange Sulphur
Dainty Sulphur
Sleepy Orange
Ruddy Daggerwing
Monarch
Zebra Longwing
Gulf Fritillary
Phaon Crescent
Common Buckeye
White Peacock
Viceroy
Queen
Monarch
Cabbage White
Gray Hairstreak
Horaces Duskywing
White Checkered Skipper
Tropical Checkered Skipper
Least Skipper
Fiery Skipper
Delaware Skipper
Aaron's Skipper
Twin Spot Skipper
Brazillian Skipper
Ocola Skipper



Other Invertebrates:

Southeastern Lubber Grasshopper
Leaf-footed Bug
Okefenokee Fishing Spider

Reptiles and Amphibians:

Carolina Green Anole
Cuban Brown Anole
Five-lined Skink
Black Racer
Red Rat Snake
Soft-shelled Turtle
Red-bellied Turtle
Gopher Tortoise
Alligator 
Pig Frog
Leopard Frog
Little Grass Frog
Green Treefrog
Cricket Frog
Squirrel Treefrog
Cuban Tree Treefrog
Greenhouse Frog
Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toad


Mammals:

Raccoon
Gray Squirrel
Marsh Rabbit
White-tailed Deer
Bobcat

 

Blooming Plants:

Whitetop Sedge (Rhynchospora colorata)
Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata)
Alligatorflag/Fireflag (Thalia geniculata)
Swamp Lily  (Crinum americanum)
Lanceleaf Arrowhead  (Sagittaria lancifolia)
Chapman's Arrowhead (Sagittaria graminea var. chapmanii)
Elderberry (Sambucus nigra)
Leavenworth's Tickseed (Coreopsis leavenworthii)
Skyflower (Hydrolea corymbosa)
Carolina Climbing Aster  (Symphyotrichum carolinianum)
Moonflower/Tropical White Morning Glory  (Ipomoea alba)
Saltmarsh Morning-Glory  (Ipomoea sagittata)
Scarlet Hibiscus/Scarlett Rosemallow (Hibiscus coccineus)
Swamp Rose Mallow/Swamp Hibiscus (Hibiscus grandiflorus)
Virginia Saltmarsh Mallow (Kosteletzkya pentacarpos)
Pale Meadowbeauty  (Rhexia mariana)
Nuttall's Meadowbeauty (Rhexia nuttallii)
Bretonica Peluda (Melochia spicata)  
Baldwins Milkwort (Polygala baldwinii)
Yellow Milkwort (Polygala rugelii)
Showy Milkwort (Asemeia violacea)
Southeastern Primrosewillow (Ludwigia linifolia)
Eastern False Dragonhead (Physostegia purpurea)
Spurred Butterfly Pea (Centrosema virginianum)
Beggartick  (Bidens alba)
Button Rattlesnakemaster (Eryngium yuccifolium)
Richard's Yelloweyed Grass (Xyris jupicai)
Musky Mint (Hyptis alata)
Tall Elephantsfoot  (Elephantopus elatus)
Winged Loosestrife (Lythrum alatum)
Greater Yellowspike Orchid/Yellow Helmet Orchid (Polystachya concreta)
Not Blooming: Ghost Orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii)  - first bloomed on June 21, 2024, so far 4 flowers have appeared, it stopped blooming on July 12, 2024

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