Places CitiesOakland

Wildlife near Oakland, CA

Illustrated wildlife of Oakland

Oakland climbs from the bay shore into the East Bay hills, and both ends are alive. Brown pelicans and cormorants work the estuary, Lake Merritt in the middle of downtown is a genuine wildlife refuge with wintering ducks, herons, and night-herons, and the redwood and oak parks in the hills hold black-tailed deer, coyotes, and the occasional bobcat. Anna’s hummingbirds and California scrub-jays hold every neighborhood.

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

312,054
recent observations
30
species listed
17
birds
7
plants
2
reptiles & amphibians

Naturalists have logged 312,054 research-grade observations across the 30 most-recorded species near Oakland. The most frequently seen is the Black-crowned Night Heron, with 17,131 recorded sightings.

Birds account for the largest share of what gets recorded there (17 of the species listed here), followed by plants (7).

🖨️ Printable wildlife checklist

Most-observed species near Oakland

Black-crowned Night Heron
Nycticorax nycticorax
17,131 observations
Western Fence Lizard
Sceloporus occidentalis
16,825 observations
California poppy
Eschscholzia californica
14,285 observations
Anna's Hummingbird
Calypte anna
13,443 observations
Red-tailed Hawk
Buteo jamaicensis
13,440 observations
Mallard
Anas platyrhynchos
13,137 observations
Snowy Egret
Egretta thula
12,181 observations
Monarch
Danaus plexippus
12,155 observations
Great Blue Heron
Ardea herodias
12,055 observations
orange bush monkeyflower
Diplacus aurantiacus
11,832 observations · iNaturalist
Western Gull
Larus occidentalis
10,350 observations
White-crowned Sparrow
Zonotrichia leucophrys
10,324 observations
Dark-eyed Junco
Junco hyemalis
10,131 observations
California Slender Salamander
Batrachoseps attenuatus
9,921 observations
coyote brush
Baccharis pilularis
9,852 observations · iNaturalist
Western Honey Bee
Apis mellifera
9,408 observations
Pacific poison oak
Toxicodendron diversilobum
9,272 observations · iNaturalist
House Finch
Haemorhous mexicanus
9,009 observations
Black Phoebe
Sayornis nigricans
8,892 observations
California Scrub-Jay
Aphelocoma californica
8,735 observations
Canada Goose
Branta canadensis
8,695 observations
Mule Deer
Odocoileus hemionus
8,661 observations
Great Egret
Ardea alba
8,093 observations
western blue-eyed grass
Sisyrinchium bellum
7,940 observations · iNaturalist
California buckeye
Aesculus californica
7,875 observations
Bermuda buttercup
Oxalis pes-caprae
7,845 observations · iNaturalist
Wild Turkey
Meleagris gallopavo
7,790 observations
Coyote
Canis latrans
7,746 observations
Double-crested Cormorant
Nannopterum auritum
7,609 observations
American Crow
Corvus brachyrhynchos
7,422 observations

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