Animals Common in your Hometown

MonkeyBat

MonkeyBat

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
I know ZooChat has members from across the world, so I'm interested to know what animals are common in your hometown/city

In my town in rural Iowa, it's pretty standard North American animals. My house has a lot of small plover type birds (most likely killdeers) in the yard, as well as many robins, barn swallows, grackles, and doves. I believe some type of ground squirrel burrows in the field across from our house, but I'm not sure of the species.

There is a little park down the road from my house with lots of woodlands, lots of rabbits, raccoons, and white tailed deer live there, as well as turkey vultures. There is also a state park just across the road from my neighborhood where tons of wild animals live, including some wild piedbald deer. Other animals I see sometimes are garter snakes, red tailed hawks, groundhogs, turkeys, pheasants, and something that jumped into a river, which I believe was a mink as it was brown and slender.

I might just go to the state park and take a walk around and record my findings :)
 
Around my home, mostly rock pigeons, black kites and crows of both the house and large-billed varieties. However often ringneck parakeets fly over the house, Brahminy kites rarely turn up as well. There are also tailorbirds, white-cheeked barbets and red-whispered bulbuls, the last of which I didn’t even know about until they started appearing during lockdown. Mammals are black rats, house mice and LOADS of stray dogs and cats. House geckos turn up quite often, much to the terror of my family members, and recently a chunam tree frog has been ‘visiting’ us.
 
what I’ve seen in my street with the park down the bottom of it (just a playground and sports oval, no lakes or rivers, pretty small)

I live in suburban Melbourne roughly 10 kilometres (6.124 miles) from the CBD.

Based on how often I’ve seen the species occur in my area.

Mammals

Grey Headed Flying Fox
Common Brushtail Possum
Brown Rat
Eastern Ringtail Possum
Eastern Grey Kangaroo*



*I actually haven’t seen one in my street or near it but there was a report a few years ago with video footage of a wounded Kangaroo going down my street.

Also in Melbourne European Rabbits can easily be seen. Echidnas as well but echidnas hide, I look for them, and the only thing that amounts is me running away from a swarm of very angry Mymerica Piluosa which have venom that can kill 1.5% of people in less than an hour (highly immunogenic, causes massive allergic reactions and if stung once, the chances almost double)



Birds


Common Myna
Spotted Turtle Dove
Eurasian Blackbird
Red Wattlebird
European Starling
Little Raven
Rainbow Lorikeet
Australian Magpie
White Plumed Honeyeater
Noisy Miner
Feral Pigeon
Little Corella
Silver Gull
Little Wattlebird
House Sparrow
Grey Butcherbird
Long Billed Corella
New Holland Honeyeater
Australian Raven
Straw Necked Ibis
Galah
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Grey Currawong


At the school I attend, these species can also be found (in no order)

Eastern Rosella
Crimson Rosella (a singular bird briefly seen)
Musk Lorikeet
Pied Currawong
Forest Raven
Australian White Ibis
Sacred Kingfisher (a stressed animal that struggled to fly)
Willie Wagtail
Black Shouldered Lapwing
Welcome Swallow
Sulphur Crested Cockatoo


Additionally these species can be seen in Urban and inner suburban areas (at least the ones I have seen) if the person knows where to look (not me, I probably couldn’t find a Tawny Frogmouth in a tree with a thousand) . (In no order). Not including Royal Park because that’s cheating as it’s basically a park 30km out of the CBD only a few kilometres from it.

an asterisk signifies a species I’ve only seen once or a couple times in these areas.

Little Penguin
Black Swan
Australasian Swamphen
Dusky Moorhen
Australian Wood Duck
Pacific Black Duck
Eurasian Coot
Little Black Cormorant
Little Pied Cormorant
Grey Fantail*
Common Bronzewing*
Grey Teal
White Faced Heron*
Chestnut Teal
Australasian Shoveler*
Silvereye*
Laughing Kookaburra



Now back to the backyard and street

Reptiles

Common Garden Skink (L.gutchenoiti)
Marbled Gecko
(Also an eastern blue tongue at Yarra Bend Park once)

Fish (Applies to Melbourne not just street and backyard)

Eastern Mosquito Fish
Black Bream
Snapper
Southern Sand Flathead
King George Whiting
Blue Throated Wrasse
Common Carp

Also easily seen is the Smooth Stingray one of the most annoying animals on this planet, they are abundant, very big, scary, easy to step on and will not hesitate to lash out if threatened which unfortunately happens often as they are very common in beaches all over Southern Victoria, especially on the Mornington Peninsula and the Southern half of Phillip Island. Worst of all they aren’t found in deep water but instead in shallows that aren’t even knee deep.


Invertebrates. Worst category of them all..... Let’s go from best to worst shall we

Centipedes, not common and not of the boring house variety either, genuinely cool centipedes.

Spiders, a lot of spiders and a lot of species, with varying amounts of venom. These include Redback spiders, Whitetail spiders, Melbourne Funnelwebs, both species of Mouse Spider, various orb weavers, a multitude of jumping spiders, the ubiquitous daddy long legs and the relatively unknown white porch spider.

Next is anything that’s ‘okay’, flies, garden snails, slugs, millipedes, cockroaches, beetles even mosquitoes make this category.

Bees and wasps are annoying, the former extremely common and the latter aggressive, I’ve never seen a beehive outside a suburban setting and out of the five I’ve seen FOUR of them were at schools.

Worst of them all, bull ants, I won’t go into any more detail to refrain myself from using very flavoursome language.
 
In my little town (less than 1 hour away from Prague) common sight are:

ton of mallards, mute swans (during winter), kingfisher pair, nutrias, nuthatch, blackbirds, robins, sparrows, swarms of house martins (i have an active nest on by bedroom window), pheasants, collared doves, wood pigeons, blue and great tits, green woodpeckers (they nest in backwall of my house), black woodpeckers, spotted woodpeckers, red squirrels, common kestrels breeding on church tower, buzzards (more in winter), tawny owls (winter), groups of roe deer, fallow deer, wild boars (they are a plague), foxes, hedgehogs, grass snakes, house cats. Weasels, martens and badgers usually turn up only as road kill. Eagle owls breed in canyon behind town you can hear them.

On the other side, the most unusual animal was probably a moose bull who migrated from Poland circa 30 years ago. He was sort of local celebrity, people saw him at many places on his slow journey from northeast Poland, through densely populated Labe lowlands in eastern and central Bohemia. He stopped at a forested hill on northern border of my town to spend a few months.

We also had a popular feral llama. Two decades ago a man who owns a summer cottage at the rand of the town got a surprise present during his birthday celebration - a young male lama. He escaped the same day and nobody could catch him for like 2 years. He lived in forested area on southern town rand in difficult terrain - steep river canyon and abandoned marble quarry (used in stroked pottery culture, 7000 years ago).

Actually, if somebody wants to imagine the terrain, vegetation and some common animals living around my town, check pc game "Kingdom Come Deliverance", where it´s featured. It comes pretty close to reality (just lacks buildings and roads younger than 600 years).
 
In my big city in North Carolina we have a fair amount of biodiversity. Almost all the species I list below I have seen within a mile of my home, most on several occasions. I am a regular birder so I could stretch that list far longer.

Mammals: grey fox, coyote, raccoon, grey squirrel, white-tailed deer, eastern cottontail, Virginia oppossum

Birds: Bald Eagle, turkey vulture, Mallard, Canada goose, red-bellied woodpecker, downy woodpecker, mourning dove, House finch, Northern mockingbird, brown thrasher, red-shouldered hawk, chipping sparrow, belted kingfisher, red-tailed hawk, gray catbird, chimney swift, ruby-crowned kinglet, pine warbler, red-eyed vireo, cardinal, blue jay, fish crow, American crow, tufted titmouse, eastern bluebird, American robin, great blue heron, white-throated sparrow, song sparrow, Carolina chickadee

Reptiles: Black racer, eastern rat snake, copperhead, ring-necked snake, brown snake, northern watersnake, common snapping turtle, pond slider, green anole, five lined skink (lives on my porch)
 
I have a lot of these animals where I live.

Mammals: white tailed deer, coyote, common opossum, grey squirrel, cottontail rabbit, red squirrel, American beaver, North American river otter, cougars, American black bears, raccoons, house mice.

Birds: greater blue heron, great egret, blue jay, red cardinal, American goldfinch, pileated woodpecker, winters woodpecker, chickadee, yellow warbler, American robin, red winged black bird, American crow, bald eagle, bared owl, red tailed hawk, common loon, Baltimore Oriole, mallard duck, wood duck, Canadian geese, wild turkey, ruby throated hummingbird, tons and tons of House sparrow.

Amphibians and reptiles: American toad, grey tree frog, wood frog, painted turtle, false map turtle, Gardner snake, snapping turtle.

Fish: crappie, walleye, lake sturgeon, Muskie, sunfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass.

Invertebrates: many kinds of dragonflies, beetles, flys, Miskitos, bees, wasps, butterflies, moths, earthworms, etc you get it inverts are everywhere.
 
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Dhole dude said:
I have a lot of these animals where I live.

Mammals: white tailed deer, coyote, common opossum, grey squirrel, cottontail rabbit, red squirrel, American beaver, North American river otter, cougars, American black bears, raccoons, house mice.

Birds: greater blue heron, great egret, blue jay, red cardinal, American goldfinch, pileated woodpecker, winters woodpecker, chickadee, yellow warbler, American robin, red winged black bird, American crow, bald eagle, bared owl, red tailed hawk, common loon, Baltimore Oriole, mallard duck, wood duck, Canadian geese, wild turkey, ruby throated hummingbird, tons and tons of House sparrow.

Amphibians and reptiles: American toad, grey tree frog, wood frog, painted turtle, false map turtle, Gardner snake, snapping turtle.

Fish: crappie, walleye, lake sturgeon, Muskie, sunfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass.

Invertebrates: many kinds of dragonflies, beetles, flys, Miskitos, bees, wasps, butterflies, moths, earthworms, etc you get it inverts are everywhere.
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And chipmunk too
 
Dhole dude said:
I have a lot of these animals where I live.

Mammals: white tailed deer, coyote, common opossum, grey squirrel, cottontail rabbit, red squirrel, American beaver, North American river otter, cougars, American black bears, raccoons, house mice.

Birds: greater blue heron, great egret, blue jay, red cardinal, American goldfinch, pileated woodpecker, winters woodpecker, chickadee, yellow warbler, American robin, red winged black bird, American crow, bald eagle, bared owl, red tailed hawk, common loon, Baltimore Oriole, mallard duck, wood duck, Canadian geese, wild turkey, ruby throated hummingbird, tons and tons of House sparrow.

Amphibians and reptiles: American toad, grey tree frog, wood frog, painted turtle, false map turtle, Gardner snake, snapping turtle.

Fish: crappie, walleye, lake sturgeon, Muskie, sunfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass.

Invertebrates: many kinds of dragonflies, beetles, flys, Miskitos, bees, wasps, butterflies, moths, earthworms, etc you get it inverts are everywhere.
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Have you ever seen cougars, bear, or otters near Bloomington? Not trying to be rude but these are supposed to be animals you see often or have seen around
 
Dhole dude said:
I have a lot of these animals where I live.

Mammals: white tailed deer, coyote, common opossum, grey squirrel, cottontail rabbit, red squirrel, American beaver, North American river otter, cougars, American black bears, raccoons, house mice.

Birds: greater blue heron, great egret, blue jay, red cardinal, American goldfinch, pileated woodpecker, winters woodpecker, chickadee, yellow warbler, American robin, red winged black bird, American crow, bald eagle, bared owl, red tailed hawk, common loon, Baltimore Oriole, mallard duck, wood duck, Canadian geese, wild turkey, ruby throated hummingbird, tons and tons of House sparrow.

Amphibians and reptiles: American toad, grey tree frog, wood frog, painted turtle, false map turtle, Gardner snake, snapping turtle.

Fish: crappie, walleye, lake sturgeon, Muskie, sunfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass.

Invertebrates: many kinds of dragonflies, beetles, flys, Miskitos, bees, wasps, butterflies, moths, earthworms, etc you get it inverts are everywhere.
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MonkeyBat said:
Have you ever seen cougars, bear, or otters near Bloomington? Not trying to be rude but these are supposed to be animals you see often or have seen around
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There are no cougars in the Bloomington area. Otters are semi-common in the area but rarely seen. Bears don't occur in the urban areas but you don't have too go too far from Bloomington to see them.
 
birdsandbats said:
There are no cougars in the Bloomington area. Otters are semi-common in the area but rarely seen. Bears don't occur in the urban areas but you don't have too go too far from Bloomington to see them.
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My family owns a cabin in rural Minnesota that I visit every few weekends so I see many of those things there. Also cougars do live in the river bottoms that are in or near bloomington.
 
Common stuff in Birmingham -
Mammals - Grey Squirrels, Red Foxes, Brown Rats, Rabbits. Hedgehogs were quite common, not so much any more. Also saw my first urban Badger this year, and apparently Muntjac aren't too uncommon in Woodgate Valley Country Park but I've never seen one.
Birds - Crows, Magpies, Pigeons. Have seen the occasional Ring-Necked Parakeet as well... Not much of a birder so this isn't an extensive list. ;)
 
Hmm, a lot of things in my area are pretty common. Far as species that can be seen pretty readily and/or in most areas:

Mammals: Mule deer, Western Gray Squirrel, Beechy Ground Squirrel, American River Otter, American Beaver, Muskrat, Raccoon, Striped Skunk, Virginia Opossum

Birds: Greater White-fronted Goose, Canada Goose, Mallard, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Wood Duck, Ruddy Duck, Bufflehead, Ring-necked Duck, Common Merganser, California Quail, Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Anerican Coot, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Killdeer, Ring-billed Gull, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Great Horned Owl, Anna's Hummingbird, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Northern Flicker, Nuttall's Woodpecker, Acorn Woodpecker, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Black Phoebe, California Scrub-Jay, Yellow-billed Magpie, American Crow, Common Raven, Tree Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Oak Titmouse, Bushtit, White-breasted Nuthatch, Bewick's Wren, House Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, American Robin, Western Bluebird, Cedar Waxwing, Yellow Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, White-crowned Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, California Towhee, Spotted Towhee, Red-winged Blackbird, Brewer's Blackbird, Great-tailed Grackle, Hooded Oriole, Western Meadowlark, Black-headed Grosbeak, Western Tanager

Reptiles: Western Pond Turtle, Red-eared Slider, Western Fence Lizard, Southern Alligator Lizard, Terrestrial Garter Snake, Aquatic Garter Snake, Racer, Sharp-tailed Snake, California Kingsnake, Western Rattlesnake

Amphibians: American Bullfrog, Pacific Treefrog, Red-spotted Toad

Fish: Green Sunfish, Chinook Salmon, Sacramento Pikeminnow, Largemouth Bass

Invertebrates: Tiger Swallowtail, Pipevine Swallowtail, Buckeye, Cabbage White, Tomato Hornworm Moth, Aboliah Underwing, Flame Skimmer, Widow Skimmer, Twelve-spotted Skimmer, Green Darner, various beetles, Bluebottle, crane flies, European Honeybee, Carpenter Bee, Yellowjacket, paper wasps, mud dauber wasps, Road Duster (grasshopper), water striders, wolf spiders, Western Black Widow, daddy long legs, crayfish, pillbug, sowbug
 
I currently live in the Midwest of the United States. I'm a military family so I move a lot, but from the short amount of time I've lived there, I've seen a lot of different animals in and around my neighborhood.

Mammals:

- White-Tailed Deer
- Coyote (I haven't seen one, but almost every night, I hear a pack of them howling nearby.)
- Striped Skunk
- Eastern Cottontail
- Groundhog
- Eastern Gray Squirrel
- Fox Squirrel

Birds:

- Red-Shouldered Hawk
- Turkey Vulture
- Great Horned Owl (heard at night)
- Barred Owl? (heard at night; not certain if it was one or not)
- Canada Goose
- Rock Dove
- Mourning Dove
- American Crow
- European Starling
- Blue Jay
- American Robin
- Black-Capped Chickadee
- House Sparrow

Reptiles:

- DeKay's Brownsnake
- Five-Lined Skink

Amphibians:

- American Toad

Fish:

- Bluegill

Invertebrates:

- Common House Spider
- House Centipede
- Monarch Butterfly
- Orange Sulphur Butterfly
- Yellow-Necked Caterpillar Moth
- Yellow-Striped Armyworm
- Widow Skimmer
- Western Honey Bee
- Wasp/Hornet sp.
- Wheel Bug
- Differential Grasshopper
- Brown Marmorated Stinkbug
- Silverfish sp.

Also, my dad always sees a Red Fox by his workplace, my mom says she once saw an animal that looked like a beaver when she was walking our dog, and my friend said that he sometimes sees bobcats and wild turkeys near our neighborhood.
 
I haven't seen that many things extravagant, for mammals, its mainly just a plague of over 50 gray squirrels in everyone's yard most of the time. I've seen muskrats, (haven't photographed any) Virginia opossums and Foxes turn up then and now again, and fairly common mice and rats all around the place as well. I have a mole city in my yard at the moment, have never seen any poke up from the ground at all though, I'm hoping to find one. Birds are a lot more plentiful, crows, Cardinals, robins, Chickadees, Geese, ducks, turkeys, And Most especially peregrine falcons. For reptiles turtles are the norm, and thats pretty much it. I handled a lot of garter snakes back in PN for a while though. Lots of burrowing toads are found in my front yard in the summertime, and for Inverts its lots of centipedes, Woodlouse, Boxelder bugs, Stoneflies, Dragonflies, bees, and other typical beauties.
EDIT: O my gosh, I almost forgot White-tailed deer, I even see some in my yard right now while I'm editing this. Also, Cottontails are very common.
 
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My list is going to be very boring to most people.
Mammals:
Eastern Gray Squirrel
White-tailed Deer
Red Fox
Groundhog
Eastern Cottontail
Birds:
Turkey Vulture
American Crow
Canada Goose
Mallard
European Starling
Common Grackle
Red-winged Blackbird
Northern Shoveler
Red-tailed Hawk
Blue Jay
Northern Cardinal
Tufted Titmouse
Black-capped/Carolina Chickadee
Eastern Bluebird
Downy Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Mourning Dove
American Robin
Song Sparrow
Carolina Wren
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Double-crested Cormorant
White-breasted Nuthatch
Northern Mockingbird
American Goldfinch
Herptiles:
Eastern Garter Snake
Eastern Box Turtle
American Toad
American Bullfrog
Northern Dusky Salamander
 
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Eastern Gray Squirrels, Chipping Sparrows, White-Tailed Deer, and Groundhogs are animals I don't have to actively seek out to see. Then there's the occasional Raccoon, Hawk, and Red Fox. I've actually seen a wild River Otter once when canoeing. Oh, and Red-Eared Sliders.

Don't even get me started on the dreaded Lanternflies...
 
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