Visitors and staff observe flora and fauna from the boardwalk on a daily basis. Below are some of the highlights reported since December 11, 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:
Wood Stork
Anhingha
Great Blue Hereon
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Black-Crowned Night Heron
White Ibis
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Red-Shouldered Hawk
Limpkin
Sandhill Crane
Mourning Dove
Common Ground Dove
Barred Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Great-crested Flycatcher
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-Headed Vireo
Blue Jay
Tufted Titmouse
Tree Swallow
Brown-headed Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Black-and-White Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
​American Redstart
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Pine Warbler
Palm Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Swamp Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Indigo Bunting
Painted Bunting
Common Grackle
Boat-tailed Grackle



Butterflies:
Cloudless Sulphur
Orange-barred Sulphur
Ruddy Daggerwing
Zebra Longwing
Gulf Fritillary
White Peacock
Viceroy
Brazillian Skipper
Ocola Skipper
Dorantes Skipper



Other Invertebrates:

Dragonflies
Damselflies
Grasshoppers
Apple Snails

Reptiles and Amphibians:

Carolina Green Anole
Cuban Brown Anole
Black Racer
Red Rat Snake
Banded Watersnake
Water Moccasin/Cottonmouth
Red-bellied Turtle
Striped Mud Turtle
Alligator 
Pig Frog
Green Treefrog
Cuban Tree Treefrog


Mammals:

Raccoon
Gray Squirrel
Marsh Rabbit
Cottontail Rabbit
Black Bear 
River Otters
 

Blooming Plants:
Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata)
Swamp Lily  (Crinum americanum)
Lanceleaf Arrowhead  (Sagittaria lancifolia)
Carolina Climbing Aster  (Symphyotrichum carolinianum)
Spurred Butterfly Pea (Centrosema virginianum)
Beggartick  (Bidens alba)
Water Dropwort/Cowbane  (Tiedemannia filiformis)
Clamshell Orchid (Prosthechea cochleata)"
Night Scented Orchid (Epidendrum nocturnum)
Dingy Flowered Orchid (Epidendrum anceps or amphistomum)
Needleroot Orchid/Jinglebell Orchid (Dendrophylax porrectus)

Want more info?