Wildlife near Seattle, Washington
Seattle sits between Puget Sound and Lake Washington, and the wildlife is thoroughly amphibious. Great blue herons nest in colonies over the neighborhoods, bald eagles and ospreys fish the sound, and harbor seals and even orcas turn up offshore. Salmon still run up the Ballard Locks and the city creeks in fall, drawing gulls and sea lions. In the forested parks it is Douglas squirrels, Steller’s jays, and barred owls.
Everything below is pulled live from recent research-grade observations near Seattle. Browse by group, explore the map, and identify what you find with Huck.
Naturalists have logged 175,384 research-grade observations across the 30 most-recorded species near Seattle. The most frequently seen is the Mallard, with 12,840 recorded sightings.
Birds account for the largest share of what gets recorded there (13 of the species listed here), followed by plants (7).
Most-observed species near Seattle
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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