Alligators are common with some 2,500 estimated to be in the refuge along with white-tailed deer, cotton tail and marsh rabbits, armadillo, and feral hogs. Depending on the season, birders will revel at the variety of birds to be seen, over 270 species considered regular inhabitants and a score of others that have been seen at least once. Wintering waterfowl include green-winged teal, redhead, scaup, coot, pintail, and bufflehead. Numerous shorebird species are there during migrations. Both bald eagles and opreys maintain a number of nests.
Wood storks are occasional.
If the ecosystem approach at St. Marks is Joe White's legacy, then refuge outreach will be Robin Will's. Will has created a virtual firestorm of activity in the areas of interpretation and education during her 17 years as refuge wildlife interpretive specialist. Coastal cleanup, a butterfly festival, a refuge scavenger hunt, open house, and duck tours are programmed by Will in the last four months of 1997 alone. She plans more duck tours, an Envirothon for high school students, a Welcome Back Songbird Festival, and annual lighthouse tour in the first four months of 1998. She oversees an education program that involves over 5,000 local school children in a year.