AWESOME WILDLIFE
How many of these creatures will you spy during your visit?
RIVER OTTER
The river otter is a semiaquatic mammal with short legs and webbed feet. Its strong tail is one-third the length of its body. Because of these features, it is an excellent swimmer and thrives in all wetland habitats, including Florida’s estuaries. Its prey includes crayfish, snakes, turtles, crabs, birds and fish.
Size: 3 to 4 feet
Weight: 11 to 30 pounds
BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN
This large aquatic mammal can swim up to 20 mph, but generally moves at 3 to 7 mph. It surfaces often to breath and can jump up to 20 feet above the water. It is normally a shallow diver, but can go down to 850 feet and hold its breath for 15 minutes.
Size: 10 to 14 feet (average 6.5 to 12 feet)
Weight: 300 to 450 pounds
OSPREY
The osprey (fish hawk) is the only aquatic raptor known to feed almost entirely upon live fish. Ospreys nest on or near Sanibel Island from January through late April on artificial platforms, telephone poles and radio towers.
Size: 23 inches
Weight: 3.5 pounds
Wingspan: 63 inches
ROSEATE SPOONBILL
The roseate spoonbill is the most flamboyant wading bird in Florida. It has a remarkable pink and white body, orange tail, scarlet shoulders and featherless, greenish head. It has a long spoon-shaped bill that it sweeps back and forth to feed on fish and invertebrates. Size: 32 inches
Weight: 3.3 pounds
Wingspan: 50 inches
AMERICAN FLAMINGO
The American flamingo occurs in Florida as a vagrant from the Bahamas, West Indies and Cuba. It is a large pink wading bird with an extremely long neck and legs. Its unique tricolored bill is white, orange-pink and black.
Size: 46 inches Weight: 5.6 pounds Wingspan: 60 inches
BALD EAGLE
The bald eagle is one of the most majestic birds in Florida. It is waterdependent and nests close to water—usually in a pine tree—from October to May. Most eagles migrate north along the coastal area from February to July.
Size: 31 inches
Weight: 9.5 pounds
Wingspan: 80 inches
YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT HERON
The yellow-crowned night heron feeds mostly at night, but can be observed during the day foraging for crabs and crayfish. Ground-nesting shorebirds have benefited from the heron’s appetite for large ghost crabs, a predator of shorebird nestlings.
Size: 24 inches
Weight: 1.5 pounds
Wingspan: 42 inches
WHITE IBIS
Today the white ibis is one of the most abundant wading birds in Florida. It is found in freshwater and saltwater wetlands, open fields and on lawns. Most foraging for fish and invertebrates is inland because white ibis nestlings cannot tolerate a high intake of salt. Size: 25 inches
Weight: 2 pounds
Wingspan: 38 inches
REDDISH EGRET
The reddish egret has a red and white color morph. The red morph is the most common. An entertaining wading bird, it is fun to watch as it runs and flies through and over shallow saltwater stabbing for fish in all directions.
Size: 30 inches
Weight: 1 pound
Wingspan: 46 inches
TRICOLORED HERON
The tricolored heron is one of Florida’s most popular wading birds. It forages in saltwater and freshwater wetlands. The heron is very active when searching for fish in shallow water, and it can easily stand motionless with outstretched wings in an attempt to attract fish to the shade it creates—a technique known as “canopy feeding.” Size: 26 inches
Weight: 13 ounces
Wingspan: 36 inches
SNOWY EGRET
The snowy egret can be recognized by its small size, white body, black legs and yellow feet. This wading bird feeds in saltwater and freshwater wetlands. It “canopy feeds” by providing shade with its outstretched wings that attracts fish.
Size: 24 inches
Weight: 13 ounces
Wingspan: 41 inches
GREEN HERON
The green heron often perches on branches, logs or stumps just above the water surface stabbing for small fish. This small heron drops leaves, feathers and other debris to attract fish, which it then stabs with its dagger-like beak.
Size: 18 inches Weight: 7 ounces Wingspan: 26 inches
EASTERN SCREECH OWL
This is Florida’s smallest owl. The eastern owl illustrates two color morphs, including the red and gray morph. It preys on small mammals, birds and insects. The owl is hard to observe as it rests in thick foliage during the day and hunts from dusk to dawn.
Size: 8.5 inches
Weight: 6 ounces
Wingspan: 20 inches
MAGNIFICENT FRIGATEBIRD
The magnificent frigatebird can be observed flying near Sanibel and Captiva during the summer. It steals food from other seabirds or plucks fish, crustaceans and jellyfish from the water surface. Occasionally it preys on small birds. Size: 40 inches
Weight: 3.3 pounds
Wingspan: 90 inches