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Wildlife near Cleveland, OH

Illustrated wildlife of Cleveland

Cleveland lines up along Lake Erie, and the lakefront is a migration magnet. Warblers and sparrows pile into the shoreline parks each spring, walleye and steelhead run the rivers, and bald eagles have returned to nest in the Cuyahoga Valley just south. The Metroparks ring the city with real forest, holding white-tailed deer, coyotes, and barred owls, and the lake keeps rafts of ducks offshore all winter.

Everything below is pulled live from recent research-grade observations near Cleveland. Browse by group, explore the map, and identify what you find with Huck.

61,727
recent observations
30
species listed
8
birds
8
insects & arthropods
7
plants

Naturalists have logged 61,727 research-grade observations across the 30 most-recorded species near Cleveland. The most frequently seen is the White-tailed Deer, with 3,450 recorded sightings.

Birds account for the largest share of what gets recorded there (8 of the species listed here), followed by insects & arthropods (8).

🖨️ Printable wildlife checklist

Most-observed species near Cleveland

White-tailed Deer
Odocoileus virginianus
3,450 observations
Monarch
Danaus plexippus
2,939 observations
American Robin
Turdus migratorius
2,774 observations
Common Eastern Bumble Bee
Bombus impatiens
2,736 observations
Common Garter Snake
Thamnophis sirtalis
2,684 observations
American Toad
Anaxyrus americanus
2,545 observations
Mallard
Anas platyrhynchos
2,532 observations
Canada Goose
Branta canadensis
2,497 observations
Great Blue Heron
Ardea herodias
2,302 observations
Mayapple
Podophyllum peltatum
2,289 observations
Painted Turtle
Chrysemys picta
2,285 observations
Eastern Red-backed Salamander
Plethodon cinereus
2,258 observations
Eastern Fox Squirrel
Sciurus niger
2,170 observations
Red-winged Blackbird
Agelaius phoeniceus
2,056 observations
Western Honey Bee
Apis mellifera
2,031 observations
Spotted Lanternfly
Lycorma delicatula
1,865 observations
Northern Cardinal
Cardinalis cardinalis
1,840 observations
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Papilio glaucus
1,765 observations
Green Frog
Lithobates clamitans
1,633 observations
Common Milkweed
Asclepias syriaca
1,627 observations
Jack-in-the-Pulpit
Arisaema triphyllum
1,602 observations
Virginia Springbeauty
Claytonia virginica
1,595 observations
Song Sparrow
Melospiza melodia
1,591 observations
Blue Dasher
Pachydiplax longipennis
1,585 observations
Common Jewelweed
Impatiens capensis
1,582 observations
Yellow Trout Lily
Erythronium americanum
1,554 observations
Red-tailed Hawk
Buteo jamaicensis
1,519 observations
Common Whitetail
Plathemis lydia
1,483 observations
Eastern Forktail
Ischnura verticalis
1,475 observations
American Beech
Fagus grandifolia
1,463 observations

Built from recent research-grade iNaturalist observations. Identifications are community-sourced and may occasionally be wrong, and the ranking reflects where people record and photograph wildlife, so a species seen often here is not necessarily rare elsewhere. Some plants and animals are only out in certain seasons. Treat this as a lively snapshot of what people are finding, not a formal checklist.

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