Sanctuary Sightings

Visitors and staff observe flora and fauna from the boardwalk on a daily basis. Below are some of the highlights reported since July 6, 2026.

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

Birds:
Black-bellied Whistling Duck
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Swallow-tailed Kite
Red-shouldered Hawk
Limpkin
Mourning Dove
Common Ground Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Barred Owl
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Red-bellied 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
Brown-headed Nuthatch

Butterflies:
Cloudless Sulphur
Orange-barred Sulphur
Great Southern White
Black Swallowtail
Giant Swallowtail
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Palamedes Swallowtail
Pearl Crescent
Monarch
Queen
Viceroy
White Peacock
Red Admiral
Zebra Longwing
Gulf Fritillary
Ruddy Daggerwing
Brazilian Skipper
Twin-spotted Skipper
Tropical Checkered Skipper

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

Reptiles and Amphibians:
Southeastern Five-lined Skink
Carolina Green Anole
Cuban Brown Anole
American Alligator 
Greenhouse Frog
Southern Leopard Frog
Narrow-mouthed Toad
Pig Frog
Green Treefrog
Cuban Treefrog
Oak Toad

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

Blooming Plants:
Creeping Cucumber (Melothria pendula) 
Turkey Tangle Fogfruit (Phyla nodiflora) 
Winged Loosestrife (Lythrum alatum) 
Moonflower; Tropical White Morning-Glory (Ipomoea alba) 
Pale Meadowbeauty (Rhexia mariana) 
Hairy Indigo (Indigofera hirsute) 
Tickseed  (Coreopsis leavenworthi)
Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata)
Swamp Lily  (Crinum americanum)
Lanceleaf Arrowhead  (Sagittaria lancifolia)
Beggartick  (Bidens alba)
Button Rattlesnakemaster (Eryngium yuccifolium)
Scarlet Rosemallow (Hibiscus coccineus)
Swamp Rosemallow (Hibiscus grandifloras)
Virginia Saltmarsh Mallow (Kosteletzkya pentacarpos)
Seaside Primrose Willow (Ludwigia maritima)
Dingy Flowered Star Orchid (Epidendrum anceps or amphistomum)
Yellow Helmet Orchid  (Polystachya concreta)
Ghost Orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii)  (Not the Super Ghost Orchid)

Want more info?

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