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Wildlife near Durham, NC

Illustrated wildlife of Durham

Durham sits in the piedmont forest along the Eno River, and the woods run right through it. White-tailed deer and gray foxes work the river parks, barred owls and pileated woodpeckers hold the hardwoods, and the Eno itself carries great blue herons and wood ducks. The neighborhoods run to northern cardinals and Carolina wrens, and Jordan and Falls Lakes nearby bring in ospreys, herons, and wintering waterfowl.

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

129,674
recent observations
30
species listed
8
insects & arthropods
7
birds
6
reptiles & amphibians

Naturalists have logged 129,674 research-grade observations across the 30 most-recorded species near Durham. The most frequently seen is the Eastern Gray Squirrel, with 9,786 recorded sightings.

Insects & Arthropods account for the largest share of what gets recorded there (8 of the species listed here), followed by birds (7).

🖨️ Printable wildlife checklist

Most-observed species near Durham

Eastern Gray Squirrel
Sciurus carolinensis
9,786 observations
Green Anole
Anolis carolinensis
6,749 observations
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Papilio glaucus
6,367 observations
Common Box Turtle
Terrapene carolina
5,861 observations
Northern Cardinal
Cardinalis cardinalis
5,653 observations
Eastern Carpenter Bee
Xylocopa virginica
5,641 observations
White-tailed Deer
Odocoileus virginianus
5,589 observations
Asian Lady Beetle
Harmonia axyridis
5,440 observations
American Robin
Turdus migratorius
5,142 observations
Crane-fly Orchid
Tipularia discolor
4,654 observations · iNaturalist
Great Blue Heron
Ardea herodias
4,291 observations
Monarch
Danaus plexippus
4,276 observations
Christmas Fern
Polystichum acrostichoides
3,994 observations
Little Brown Jugs
Asarum arifolium
3,950 observations · iNaturalist
American Sweetgum
Liquidambar styraciflua
3,937 observations
Western Honey Bee
Apis mellifera
3,930 observations
Red-shouldered Hawk
Buteo lineatus
3,917 observations
Common Eastern Bumble Bee
Bombus impatiens
3,911 observations
Eastern Bluebird
Sialia sialis
3,617 observations
Green Treefrog
Dryophytes cinereus
3,387 observations · iNaturalist
Lesser Celandine
Ficaria verna
3,251 observations · iNaturalist
Canada Goose
Branta canadensis
3,075 observations
Common Watersnake
Nerodia sipedon
3,049 observations
Eastern Cottontail
Sylvilagus floridanus
2,993 observations
Northern Mockingbird
Mimus polyglottos
2,983 observations
Cope's Gray Tree Frog
Dryophytes chrysoscelis
2,903 observations · iNaturalist
Silver-spotted Skipper
Epargyreus clarus
2,891 observations
DeKay's Brownsnake
Storeria dekayi
2,840 observations
American Tuliptree
Liriodendron tulipifera
2,812 observations
Common Whitetail
Plathemis lydia
2,785 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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