Sanctuary Sightings

Visitors and staff observe flora and fauna from the boardwalk on a daily basis. Below are some of the highlights reported since June 8, 2026.

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

Birds:
Black-bellied Whistling Duck
Anhinga    
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tri-colored Heron
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night Heron
White Ibis
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
Pileated Woodpecker
Great Crested Flycatcher
White-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay    
Tufted Titmouse
Carolina Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Northern Mockingbird
Northern Parula
Northern Cardinal
Common Grackle

Butterflies:
Red Admiral
Black Swallowtail
Viceroy
Giant Swallowtail
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Brazilian Skipper
White Peacock
Twin-spotted Skipper
Ruddy Daggerwing
Cloudless Sulphur
Dainty Sulphur
Barred Yellow
Zebra Longwing
Gulf Fritillary
Phaon Crescent
Great Southern White

Other Invertebrates:
Cypress Emerald Moth
Southern Two-striped Walking Stick
Dragonflies
Damselflies
Grasshoppers
Apple Snails
Okeefenokee Fishing Spider
Six-spotted Fishing Spider
Whirlygig Beetle

Reptiles and Amphibians:
Florida Softshell Turtle
Florida Red-bellied Turtle
Southeastern Five-lined Skink
Carolina Green Anole
Cuban Brown Anole
American Alligator 
Banded Water Snake
Black Racer
Greenhouse Frog
Southern Leopard Frog
Narrow-mouthed Toad
Pig Frog
Green Treefrog
Cuban Tree Treefrog

Mammals:
Bobcat
River Otter
White-tailed Deer
Raccoon
Gray Squirrel

Blooming Plants:
Creeping Cucumber (Melothria pendula) 
Turkey Tangle Fogfruit (Phyla nodiflora) 
Pineland Heliotrope (Euploca polyphylla) 
Marsh Fleabane/ Rosy Camphorweed (Pluchea baccharis) 
Winged Loosestrife (Lythrum alatum) 
Pond Apple (Annona glabra) 
Moonflower; Tropical White Morning-Glory (Ipomoea alba) 
Water Hemlock (Cicuta maculata) 
Mock Bishopsweed (Ptilimnium capillaceum) 
Pale Meadowbeauty (Rhexia mariana) 
Hairy Indigo (Indigofera hirsute) 
Tickseed  (Coreopsis leavenworthi)
Nuttall's Thistle (Cirsium nuttallii)
Thickleaf Wild Petunia (Ruellia succulenta)
Saw Palmetto (Serenoa repens)
Elderberry (Sambucus nigra)
Climbing Aster (Symphyotrichum carolinianum)
Common Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
Coastalplain St.John's-Wort (Hypericum Brachyphyllum)
Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata)
Swamp Lily  (Crinum americanum)
Lanceleaf Arrowhead  (Sagittaria lancifolia)
Beggartick  (Bidens alba)
Dingy Flowered Star Orchid (Epidendrum anceps or amphistomum)
Fourpetal St. John's-Wort  (Hypericum tetrapetalum)
Button Rattlesnakemaster (Eryngium yuccifolium)
Narrowleaf Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium)
Scarlet Rosemallow (Hibiscus coccineus)
Virginia Saltmarsh Mallow (Kosteletzkya pentacarpos)
Seaside Primrose Willow (Ludwigia maritima)

Want more info?

Find more sightings, or report your own on our Facebook page, YouTube, or iNaturalist!