Ibis Willdlife

Snowy Egret

A small, active white heron, the Snowy Egret is found in lakes within Ibis. Its black legs and yellow feet quickly identify it.

Great Blue Heron

The Great Blue Heron can be found along the lakes and small ponds within Ibis Golf and Country Club. Although the Great Blue Heron eats primarily fish, it is adaptable and willing to eat other animals as well.

Eagle

The national emblem of the USA, the Bald Eagle was threatened with extinction in the lower 48 states because of DDT poisoning. Protection under the Endangered Species Act brought populations up and they were delisted in June 2007—a true conservation success story.

Sandhill Crane

The Sandhill Crane is a tall gray bird of open grasslands, meadows, and wetlands within Ibis. It congregates in huge numbers in migration, and can be seen in Ibis as a pair, as the Sandhill Crane mates for life.

Baby Sandhill Crane

Similar to adult, but mottled gray and brown, and without facial markings or bald forehead, Baby Sandhill Crane’s hatch in Ibis in the Spring, marking a favorite time of year for Ibis residents.

American Alligator

Ibis’s most ominous resident, the American Alligator American has the strongest laboratory measured bite of any living animal. They can be seen in Ibis lakes and sometimes bathing on the perimeter of them. Although Alligators are wary of humans, they are best observed from a safe distance.

Anhinga

A bird of the myriad Ibis lakes, the Anhinga is known as the Water-Turkey for its swimming habits and broad tail, and also as the Snake-Bird for its habit of swimming with just its long head and neck sticking out of the water.

Osprey

One of the largest birds of prey in North America, the Osprey eats almost exclusively fish. It is one of the most widespread birds in the world, found on all continents except Antarctica.

Limpkin

An unusual bird of Ibis lakes and marshes, the Limpkin reaches the northern limits of its breeding range in Florida. Here, it feeds almost exclusively on apple snails, which it extracts from their shells with its long bill. Its screaming cry is unmistakable and evocative.

Great Egret

A large white heron, the Great Egret is seen throughout Ibis Golf and Country Club. The Great Egret used to be called the American Egret but that was hardly appropriate, since its range extends beyond the Americas.

Snail Kite

A bird of tropical marshlands, the Snail Kite makes it to the United States only in southern Florida, so Ibis Golf and Country Club is a perfect home. This specialized hawk feeds primarily on snails. The Snail Kite is one of several types of Hawk found in Ibis.

Ibis residents enjoy unsurpassed tranquility and pristine views of South Florida nature. Visit Ibis and you’ll see a myriad of our name-sake white-bodied, orange-beaked Ibis birds. Large red-crowned Sandhill Cranes meandering in pairs, regal White and Blue Herons, gorgeous Egrets, primordial alligators, stately Eagles, Ospreys and Hawks are some of Ibis’s most famous residents.

Ibis is surrounded by the Grassy Waters Nature Preserve. This Palm Beach County preserve, operated by the city of West Palm Beach, consists of two sites. The south site features a nature center/classroom surrounded by 1,500 feet of boardwalk, overlooking a sawgrass prairie and cypress marsh. The north site has a lake where catch-and-release fishing is allowed and two trails traverse uplands and wetlands. Natural history programs and guided canoe outings are regularly offered. The prairie and marsh attract great blue herons, great egrets, ibises, limpkins. Turkey vultures and red-shouldered hawks are regular year-round sights; snail kites and bald eagles are occasionally seen. On the north site, watch for wading birds, ospreys and wild ducks.