The Town of Orchid occupies an environmentally distinctive place on the barrier island in Indian River County. Its ocean-to-lagoon setting brings together a variety of natural environments, including beaches and dunes, lagoon-based islands, freshwater and brackish wetlands, and the waters of one of North America’s most biologically diverse estuaries. These interconnected habitats support an exceptional variety of wildlife and make encounters with native species part of everyday life in Orchid.
Orchid’s natural environment is closely connected to the Indian River Lagoon, a 156-mile estuary that supports a remarkable diversity of plant and animal life. Along the ocean, Orchid’s beaches and dunes provide another important habitat, including nesting grounds for protected sea turtles. Because the Town provides more detailed information on these subjects elsewhere, this page focuses on some of the many other species and habitats that make Orchid’s surroundings distinctive.
A Community for Birds
Birdlife is particularly abundant in and around the community. Brown and American white pelicans, great blue herons, great and snowy egrets, roseate spoonbills, wood storks, ospreys and numerous other shorebirds, wading birds and migratory species are regulars in Orchid. The community takes great pride in the fact that the Orchid Island Golf & Beach Club has been a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary since 2005, a designation awarded through Audubon International’s Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses. Certification recognizes best practices involving wildlife and habitat management, water conservation and water-quality management, environmental planning, responsible chemical use, and environmental education and outreach. If you have the chance to join one of the regularly scheduled birdwatching tours organized by the Orchid Island Golf & Beach Club, you doubtless find it extremely rewarding.
An Abundance of Species
Orchid’s wildlife extends well beyond its bird populations. Gopher tortoises inhabit the dry uplands characteristic of Florida’s coastal environment, while river otters, bobcats, snakes and a variety of smaller animals occupy nearby maritime and wetland habitats. In the Indian River Lagoon, residents may also encounter bottlenose dolphins, Florida manatees, stingrays, and even alligators. Each of these species is part of a larger ecological community. Local areas designated for conservation within Orchid feature native vegetation that provide food, shelter and nesting areas, as well as nursery and feeding grounds. Protecting the relationships between habitats and inhabitants is as important as protecting any one species.
Pelican Island & Jungle Trail
Not far north of Orchid lies the Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, one of the Treasure Coast’s most significant natural and historic places. President Theodore Roosevelt established Pelican Island on March 14, 1903 to protect nesting birds, which were under threat from plume hunting. As the nation’s first national wildlife refuge, it signified the beginning of what became the National Wildlife Refuge System. The refuge today encompasses more than 5,400 acres of protected lands and waters in and around the Indian River Lagoon. Management falls to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Visitors can explore trails and observation areas overlooking Pelican Island and the surrounding lagoon.
You can reach the refuge by the Historic Jungle Trail, which runs through Orchid and links the area’s cultural history with the landscape and wildlife that helped shape its development. Originally used by settlers and formally established as a county road in the 1920s, the unpaved route became an important corridor for transporting citrus, vegetables, and other goods along the barrier island. Today, the approximately 7.5-mile historic segment remains largely unpaved and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, winding through coastal hammock habitat and along portions of the Indian River Lagoon.
Orchid is not simply near important wildlife habitat, it is part of the same barrier-island and lagoon ecosystem that gave rise to one of the earliest wildlife conservation efforts in the nation, which continues to be as important as it is beautiful to this very day. As one of Orchid’s residents described it:
“There are few things as pleasant as a slow bike ride down the historic Jungle Trail for a pleasant walk through the nation’s first established wildlife refuge. It’s paradise.“
Photo Gallery
Residents have submitted many wonderful photos of the wildlife abundantly present in the community; you are encouraged to browse the Photo Gallery to meet the beaked, winged, whiskered, and pawed neighbors!