Wildlife
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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Eastern Bluebird
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The loose, sandy soils of the longleaf pine sandhills are
easily excavated by gopher tortoises; look for the mounds of
sand that mark the burrow entrance. A number of other sandhill
residents find refuge within these burrows. Indigo snakes,
eastern diamondback rattlesnakes, gopher frogs, pine snakes and
Florida mice may occur at Fort White. Look for them near the
burrow or observe tracks left behind in the soft sand.
Bluebirds, woodpeckers, kestrels, pine warblers and nuthatches are
common residents of longleaf pine sandhills. Openings attract
white-tailed deer and wild turkey. Scan ponds for wood ducks in the
winter. Barred owls and red-tailed hawks hunt in the hardwood swamp
along the river and migratory warblers pause here during migrations.
River otters, beavers and an occasional manatee ply the waters of the
Santa Fe River. Watch for swallow-tailed and Mississippi kites in the
summer. Blazing star, goldenrod, milkweed, aster and other fall
wildflowers attract butterflies. Look for fox squirrels foraging on the
ground in the sandhills. The longleaf pines produce an abundance of
seeds that attract these protected squirrels, the larger and more
variously colored cousins of the common gray squirrel.
