Beidler Forest
Wildlife at Beidler
Beidler Forest is the world’s largest virgin cypress-tupelo swamp forest — a pristine ecosystem untouched for millennia. Wildlife here are plentiful and varied, including:
Birds
- Barred Owl (year-round)
- Brown Creeper (winter)
- Hermit Thrush (winter)
- Hooded Warbler (spring/summer/fall)
- Kinglets (Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned — winter)
- Northern Parula (spring/summer)
- Prothonotary Warbler (spring/summer)
- Red-shouldered Hawk (year-round)
- Swallow-tailed Kite (spring/summer)
- Yellow-crowned Night Heron (spring/summer)
- Yellow-billed Cuckoo (spring/summer)
- Winter Wren (winter)
- White Ibis (late spring/summer/fall)
- Woodpeckers (Pileated, Red-bellied, Downy, Hairy, and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker — year-round)
- Vireos (White-eyed and Red-eyed — spring/summer/fall. Blue-headed — winter)
- And more . . . .
Check out a complete list of recent bird sitings here.
Mammals
- Bats (nine species, including the declining Big-eared Bat, can be seen on night walks)
- Bobcat
- Gray Squirrel
- Long-Tailed Weasel
- Marsh Rabbit
- Nine-banded Armadillo (a non-native species)
- Raccoon
- Red Fox
- River Otter
- Virginia Opossum
- White-tailed Deer
- And more . . . .
Reptiles & Amphibians
- American Alligator
- Banded Watersnake
- Bronze Frog
- Brown Watersnake
- Eastern Cottonmouth
- Eastern Mud Turtle
- Greenish Rat Snake
- Spotted Turtle
- Yellow-bellied Slider
- And more . . . .
Spiders & Insects
- Dark Fishing Spider
- Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly
- Great Blue Skimmer Dragonfly
- Marbled Orbweaver
- Red-femured Orbweaver
- Tussock Moth Caterpillars
- And more . . . .
This is just a small sampling of the wildlife we see at Beidler Forest. Please come explore for yourself!
Photo Gallery
Special Walks
Come for a daytime bird walk or one of our regular night walks, which show off Beidler Forest at a truly magical time.
