Courtesy Jekyll Island Authority
Georgia Sea Turtle Center
Jekyll Island, Georgia
Every May, loggerhead sea turtles crawl up the island’s beaches to dig their nests (in 2024, a record-breaking 243 sites were found). The endangered species’ steady rebound in the state is largely thanks to the ongoing conservation efforts of this devoted research and rehabilitation facility. Behind-the-scenes tours of the hospital offer opportunities to learn about sea turtle care and treatment, as well as up-close encounters with patients and interactive exhibits about Jekyll’s coastal ecology. Ride With Night Patrol programs go even further, pairing participants with a field biologist to search for nests and freshly hatched young.
Courtesy NPS.GOV
Marjory Stoneman Douglas Wilderness
South Florida
Composed of marshes, waterways, and forests of tropical shrubbery, the sinuous “River of Grass” flows through 1.3 million acres of the Everglades and is the largest designated wilderness east of the Rockies. It’s also a magnet for wildlife watchers, who converge on entry points at the Shark Valley, Flamingo, and Royal Palm visitor centers for a chance to spot crocodiles, roseate spoonbills, and manatees. Among the many ranger-led tours are canoe excursions through mangrove tunnels, full-moon bike rides across sawgrass prairies, or a gutsy “Slough Slog” backcountry walk through waist-deep water.
Courtesy Callaway Gardens
Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center
Pine Mountain, Georgia
This glass-enclosed conservatory at Callaway Gardens, one of the largest in North America, is usually home to some 1,000 butterflies in all stages, from chrysalis to caterpillar to full flutter. While most of its inhabitants are not native to the Southeast, the center’s educational opportunities are applicable to any guest invested in helping the winged wonders thrive. Take a guided tour to learn about the life cycle of butterflies and home gardening tips to attract and nourish the pollinators. Special presentations beginning in September highlight monarchs and their long-haul migration across the continent.
Via NPS.GOV
Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge
Decatur, Alabama
Spanning 35,000 acres of protected habitat, this refuge was established in 1938 as a sanctuary for wintering and migrating birds. During mid-summer months, however, visit to see featherless flyers: gray and Indiana bats. A viewing platform offers front-row seats for the colony’s twilight emergence from Sauta Cave (in nearby Scottsboro), in numbers reaching hundreds of thousands. (Tip: Droppings are almost guaranteed, so bring a hat or umbrella.) Return between November and January, when sandhill and whooping cranes, as well as ospreys, kestrels, and bald eagles, fuel up at the observation feeding pond, a short, forested hike from the visitor center.
Wildlife Center of Virginia
Waynesboro, Virginia
For more than 40 years, indigenous wildlife has found sanctuary at this teaching hospital, whose ultimate goal is reintroduction. The center hosts free, reservation-required open houses in the spring, summer, and fall. Group tours focus on the day-to-day operations of the veterinary clinic that cares for everything from black bears to woodrats. The center’s most popular offering remains the meet-and-greets with resident nonreleasable animals, such as snakes, opossums, and raptors.
This article appears in the Summer 2025 issue of Southbound.
