440 E. Ocean Boulevard
Lantana

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Lantana Nature Preserve is a sliver of land but with a strategic location and key habitat along the Intracoastal Waterway. It's the kind of place where you'd expect to find migratory birds wintering over or taking temporary refuge while on their way to points north or south, depending on the time of year. And that's exactly what we found when we visited the preserve in early spring: we spotted black-and-white warblers, prairie warblers, northern parulas, american redstarts and black poll warblers. We've seen reports that this list only stratches the surface of what is possible to see here on the right day. The list also includes a few rare variants such as the Bahamian mockingbird.

Habitat is marine hammock, with gumbo limbo, seagrape and cabbage palms conspicuous in the canopy. The western side of the preserve is bordered by a finger of the Intracoastal and lined with mangroves, particularly reds. Wild coffee, fire bush, wild plumbago and ocean blue morning glory populate the understory.

Hiking trails loop along the edges of the preserve and criss-cross into the interior in places. The trails are wide and hard-packed, with boardwalks in places that might get a little wet. There's a pavilion near the parking lot and benches throughout, plus interpretive signs throughout. Parking is generous, but the hours limited: 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week. Check the website to confirm. The preserve is owned by the town of Lantana.