Visitors and staff observe flora and fauna from the boardwalk on a daily basis. Below are some of the highlights reported since June 21, 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
Anhinga
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Great Blue Heron
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Black Crowned Night Heron
Yellow Crowned Night Heron
White Ibis
Roseate Spoonbill
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Swallow-tailed Kite
Red-shouldered Hawk
Limpkin
Mourning Dove
Common Ground Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Barred Owl
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Great-crested Flycatcher
White-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
Tufted Titmouse
Brown-headed Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Northern Mockingbird
Northern Parula
Pine Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Boat-tailed Grackle



Butterflies:
Barred Yellow
Ruddy Daggerwing
Monarch
Zebra Longwing
Gulf Fritillary
White Peacock
Viceroy
Tiger Swallowtail
Palamedes Swallowtail
Black Swallowtail
Cabbage White
Gray Hairstreak
Horaces Duskywing
Tropical Checkered Skipper
Brazillian Skipper


Other Invertebrates:

Southeastern Lubber Grasshopper
Leaf-footed Bug
Okefenokee Fishing Spider

Reptiles and Amphibians:

Carolina Green Anole
Cuban Brown Anole
Five-lined Skink
Red Rat Snake
Yellow Rat Snake
Banded Watersnake
Water Moccasin
Soft-shelled Turtle
Red-bellied Turtle
Gopher Tortoise
Alligator 
Pig Frog
Leopard 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:

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)
Eastern False Dragonhead (Physostegia purpurea)
Spurred Butterfly Pea (Centrosema virginianum)
Beggartick  (Bidens alba)
Button Rattlesnakemaster (Eryngium yuccifolium)
Winged Loosestrife (Lythrum alatum)
Cardinal Airplant/Stiff-Leaved Wild Pine (Tillandsia fasciculata)
Northern Needleleaf (Tillandsia balbisiana)
Southern Needleleaf (Tillandsia setacea)
Ballmoss (Tillandsia recurvata)
Spanish Moss (Tillandsia usneoides)
Florida Butterfly Orchid (Encyclia tampensis)
Dingy-flowered Star Orchid (Epidendrum amphistomum)
Greater Yellowspike Orchid/Yellow Helmet Orchid (Polystachya concreta)
Ghost Orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii)  -in bloom with 3 flowers as of 6/26/24, first bloomed on June 21.

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