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Wildlife near Salt Lake City, Utah

Illustrated wildlife of Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City sits between the Wasatch Range and the Great Salt Lake, and both extremes send wildlife into town. Mule deer and moose come down the canyons into the foothill neighborhoods, California gulls (the state bird, and the ones that famously saved the pioneer crops) wheel overhead, and the lake’s shoreline draws millions of migrating shorebirds and eared grebes to the brine. Black-billed magpies and red foxes hold the valley year round.

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

52,667
recent observations
30
species listed
15
birds
7
insects & arthropods
3
mammals

Naturalists have logged 52,667 research-grade observations across the 30 most-recorded species near Salt Lake City. The most frequently seen is the Mallard, with 5,208 recorded sightings.

Birds account for the largest share of what gets recorded there (15 of the species listed here), followed by insects & arthropods (7).

🖨️ Printable wildlife checklist

Most-observed species near Salt Lake City

Mallard
Anas platyrhynchos
5,208 observations
Eastern Fox Squirrel
Sciurus niger
3,618 observations
American Robin
Turdus migratorius
2,576 observations
Canada Goose
Branta canadensis
2,465 observations
Western Honey Bee
Apis mellifera
2,354 observations
Mule Deer
Odocoileus hemionus
2,229 observations
Black-billed Magpie
Pica hudsonia
2,156 observations
American Bison
Bos bison
2,081 observations · iNaturalist
House Finch
Haemorhous mexicanus
2,043 observations
Bold Jumping Spider
Phidippus audax
1,632 observations
American Coot
Fulica americana
1,582 observations
Cooper's Hawk
Astur cooperii
1,437 observations · iNaturalist
Brown-belted Bumble Bee
Bombus griseocollis
1,426 observations
Seven-spotted Lady Beetle
Coccinella septempunctata
1,417 observations
Hunt's Bumble Bee
Bombus huntii
1,403 observations · iNaturalist
Red-tailed Hawk
Buteo jamaicensis
1,388 observations
Western Terrestrial Garter Snake
Thamnophis elegans
1,379 observations
Redstem Stork's-bill
Erodium cicutarium
1,377 observations · iNaturalist
House Sparrow
Passer domesticus
1,358 observations
Red-winged Blackbird
Agelaius phoeniceus
1,332 observations
Lesser Goldfinch
Spinus psaltria
1,304 observations
Eastern Boxelder Bug
Boisea trivittata
1,300 observations
Song Sparrow
Melospiza melodia
1,257 observations
European Paper Wasp
Polistes dominula
1,240 observations
California Quail
Callipepla californica
1,231 observations
Showy Milkweed
Asclepias speciosa
1,231 observations
Northern Flicker
Colaptes auratus
1,200 observations
American Kestrel
Falco sparverius
1,156 observations
Gambel Oak
Quercus gambelii
1,147 observations
Arrowleaf Balsamroot
Balsamorhiza sagittata
1,140 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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