Daggerwing Nature Center is all wet. Or mostly wet, at least. It is a 40-acre preserve, primarily swamp, wetlands and lake within the Burt Aaronson South County Regional Park in suburban Boca Raton. It has slightly more than a half-mile of trails, but you won't get your feet wet, because the trails are entirely boardwalk. It's an easy hike.
Species we spotted there include wood storks, great blue herons, great white herons, ibis, black-crowned night heron, red-shouldered hawk, mockingbird, cardinal, eastern gray squirrel, raccoons, bald and pond cypress, gumbo limbo trees, pond apples, wild coffee, cat-tails, resurrection fern, and air plants. One species we did not spot, oddly enough: the namesake ruddy daggerwing butterfly. Burt Aaronson South County Regional is 848 acres west of U.S. 441 off Glades Road (it can be accessed from Yamato Road as well). The Palm Beach County park is multi-purpose, with picnic areas, water park and more. There are ponds and lakes throughout; along with some wooded margins, they are great places to find birds, butterflies, dragonflies and wild flowers.
Daggerwing has an interpretive center, and offers programs throughout the year for a variety ages and interests. The center is open limited days and hours (check the website for details) but the trails are open sunrise to sunset, every day of the year. There is an observation tower on the trail, and a butterfly garden at the entrance.
For more photos and detailed descriptions, take our Virtual Tour
