Woodcock, hairy and downy woodpeckers, and warblers inhabit the extensive forest. In the marshes, great blue, green and little blue herons, as well as great and snowy egrets, hunt for fish. Black ducks, mallards, Canada and snow geese, and other waterfowl use the marshes and open water found in and around the area. Wood ducks are especially attracted to an area of forest deliberately flooded in the fall when the trees are dormant. This area is called a "greentree reservoir" and is also home to frogs and toads, turtles and snakes. Endangered Delmarva fox squirrels were released on the area and have been thriving there for a decade. Because of their preference for open woodlands and wood edges, these squirrels are often observed from cars driving along the woods. Migrating hawks can be seen in the fall as they travel down the East Coast. 

From the 1940s to the 1960s, E.A. Vaughn WMA was a game farm where a number of pheasant species were raised and released. It was also an area where wildlife biologists experimented with plants and planting arrangements which would most benefit wildlife. Today, these plantings and the mixture of forests, fields and marshes attract and support a multitude of wildlife species.