Sanctuary Sightings

Visitors and staff observe flora and fauna from the boardwalk on a daily basis. Below are some of the highlights reported since March 15, 2026.

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

Birds:
Prothonotary Warbler
Blue-winged Warbler
Hooded Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Painted Bunting
Red-headed Woodpecker
Hooded Merganser
Common Ground Dove
Limpkin
Anhinga
White Ibis
Black-crowned Night Heron
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Green Heron
Great Egret
Great Blue Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Swallow-tailed Kite
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
White-eyed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue Jay
Tufted Titmouse
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Carolina Wren
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Cedar Waxwing
Common Grackle
Black-and-white Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Northern Parula
Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Indigo Bunting
Yellow-crowned Night Heron
Blue-headed Vireo
Boat-tailed Grackle
Purple Gallinule
Western Cattle-Egret
Red-winged Blackbird
Black-throated Green Warbler
Summer Tanager
American Bittern
Wood Stork
Double-crested Cormorant
Snowy Egret
American Redstart
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Red-tailed Hawk
Barred Owl
Fish Crow
Swamp Sparrow
Waterthrush 
Ovenbird
Prairie Warbler
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Orange-crowned Warbler
Baltimore Oriole
Belted Kingfisher
Mottled Duck
Common Gallinule
Sandhill Crane

Butterflies:
Twin-spotted Skipper
Ruddy Daggerwing
Cloudless Sulphur
Zebra Longwing
Gulf Fritillary

Other Invertebrates:
Click Beetle
Dragonflies
Damselflies
Grasshoppers
Apple Snails
Okeefenokee Fishing Spider
Six-spotted Fishing Spider
Whirlygig Beetle

Reptiles and Amphibians:
Southeastern Five-lined Skink
Softshell Turtle
Striped Mud Turtle
Banded Water Snake
Southern Leopard Frog
Carolina Green Anole
Cuban Brown Anole
American Alligator 
Pig Frog
Green Treefrog
Cuban Tree Treefrog

Mammals:
Florida Panther
River Otter
Black Bear
White-tailed Deer
Raccoon
Gray Squirrel

Blooming Plants:
Tickseed  (Coreopsis leavenworthi)
Leafless Beaked Ladiestresses Orchid (Sacoila lanceolata var. lanceolata)
Leafy Beaked Ladiestresses Orchid (Sacoila lanceolata var. paludicola)
Spring Ladiestresses  (Spiranthes vernalis)
Nuttall's Thistle (Cirsium nuttallii)
Thickleaf Wild Petunia (Ruellia succulenta)
Saw Palmetto (Serenoa repens)
Earleaf Greenbrier  (Smilax auriculata)
Dahoon Holly (Ilex cassine)
Elderberry (Sambucus nigra)
Climbing Aster (Symphyotrichum carolinianum)
Common Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
Chapman’s Arrowhead (Sagittaria graminea var. chapmanii)
Prairie Iris (Iris savannarum)
Northern Needleleaf (Tillandsia balbisiana)
Cardinal Airplant (Tillandsia fasciculata)
Common Ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia)
Oakleaf Fleabane (Erigeron quercifolius)
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)
Delicate Ionopsis Orchid (Ionopsis utricularioides)
Cigar/Cowhorn Orchid  (Cyrtopodium punctatum)
Purple Thistle (Cirsium horridulum)
Fourpetal St.John's-Wort  (Hypericum tetrapetalum)
Southern Dewberry (Rubus trivialis)
Fourleaf Vetch (Vicia acutifolia)

Want more info?

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