Commonly Seen Animals

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Rock Creek Park

Bird Checklist Rock Creek Park

D.C. Audubon Society

Below are some of the more commonly noticed animals at Rock Creek Park. Some vocalize, drawing attention to themselves in certain seasons. Others are more active in one season, building nests or perhaps collecting food for winter.

In addition to the information below, see the bird checklists taken at Rock Creek Park throughout the year by the DC Audobon society (and join a fieldtrip!)

Commonly Seen/Heard AnimalsScientific NameBest Season to see or hear
eastern chipmunkTamias striatusFall
eastern gray squirrelSciurus carolinensis 
raccoonProcyon lotor 
red foxVulpes vulpes 
white-tailed deerOdocoileus virginianus(Fawns) Summer
belted kingfisherMegaceryle alcyonSpring/Summer
great blue heronArdea herodias 
red-bellied woodpeckerMelanerpes carolinus 
red-shouldered hawkButeo lineatusSpring
wood duckAix sponsaSpring/Summer
mallardAnas platyrhynchosSpring/Summer
toadsAnaxyrus (Bufo) speciesSpring
tiger swallowtail butterflyPapilio glaucusSummer

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Less Commonly Seen/Heard AnimalsScientific NameBest Season to see or hear
beaverCastor canadensis 
coyoteCanis latrans 
muskratOndatra zibethicus 
opossumDidelphis marsupialis 
southern flying squirrelGlaucomys volans 
downy woodpeckerPicoides pubescens 
ovenbirdSeiurus aurocapillusSummer
pileated woodpeckerDryocopus pileatus 
wood thrushHylocichla mustelinaSpring/Summer
eastern box turtleTerrapene carolina carolinaSummer
red-eared sliderTrachemys scripta elegans 
wood frogLithobates sylvaticus (Rana sylvatica)Spring
black rat snakeElaphe obsoleta obsoletaSummer
garter snakeThamnophis sirtalis sirtalisSummer
northern water snakeNerodia sipedonSummer

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