Explore the East End Lagoon! 

Notable Resources for the Nature Trail!
Audubon Society : https://www.audubon.org/#

Donate to the East End Lagoon Nature Park and Preserve : http://www.eastendlagoon.org/support

Wildlife at the East End Lagoon
"Because there's nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline, no matter how many times it's sent away." - Sarah Kay

The wildlife of the lagoon is generally obscure and easy to overlook. Although Audubon found white-tailed deer to be common on the island, by the late 1800's deer were wiped out here. Now, except for the odd coyote or raccoon, the wildlife is generally composed of insects, reptiles, and amphibians.

If you look closely, the lagoon teems with butterflies, dragonflies, robber flies, and a breathtaking variety of brilliantly colored insects. Some of these are among the smallest of their kind in the world. Others have adapted to the salinity of the lagoon and its marshes and are found nowhere else except in these special places.

You will find many of these insects and other wildlife along the East End Lagoon Nature Trail. The flowers that bloom along the Trail attract  clouds of butterflies as well as the dragonflies that prey on the butterflies. The key to uncovering the wildlife along the trail is to walk quietly and to look very, very closely at what is around you.

Eastern Pygmy-Blue
Some of the smallest butterflies are the toughest! The eastern pygmy-blue (Brephidium pseudofea) is one of the smallest butterflies in the world, yet it proliferates here in the salt marsh. This butterfly lays its eggs on Salicornia and Batis, plants that only live in the most saline soils.

Seaside Dragonlet
The Seaside Dragonlet (Erythrodiplax berenice) is the only dragonfly in the Western Hemisphere that can breed in seawater. The lagoon is a perfect place for this dragonlet, and it can be seen commonly in warmer months.

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