
Steelhead Trout!
Blue Jay!



Northern Cardinal!

Yellow Pearch!
Birds of the Euclid Creek Watershed
The Euclid Creek Watershed is home to many different bird and fish species. The watershed serves as a crucial habitat for many migratory birds especially near the mouth of the Creek. Many of these birds can be seen in the Spring and Fall seasons. The Friends of Euclid Creek work with many residents and experts to record what species you can expect to see. We also host birding events during the peak seasons for Watershed residents to observe and learn about these magnificent birds.
Below is a list of the 38 different species of birds sighted in only two hours at Metroparks Euclid Creek reservation at Wildwood. Each identification notes the bird's native range, diet, their conservation status such as, common, least concern, or endangered. We encourage residents to observe these birds in their natural environment in a safe and respectable manner.
NOTE: It is illegal to collect bird feathers, nests, and eggs under federal and international law. It is also illegal to feed birds and other wildlife as it lead to being habituated to humans and lead harm of wildlife and humans. Bread is especially harmful to birds as it leads to malnutrition.
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​Canada Goose
(Branta canadensis)
image by: Tom Koerner/USFWS
Range: This species is native to North America. It breeds in Canada and the northern United States in a wide range of habitats. The Great Lakes region maintains a large population of Canada geese.
Diet: Like most geese, the Canada goose is primarily herbivorous, although they sometimes eat small insects and fish. Their diet includes green vegetation and grains. The Canada goose eats a variety of grasses when on land.
Migration: Many of the geese, previously migratory, reportedly had become native, remaining in the state even in the summer. The increase was attributed to a lack of natural predators, an abundance of water, and plentiful grass in manicured lawns in urban areas. Canada geese live year-round in the southern part of their breeding range, including the northern half of the United States' eastern seaboard and Pacific Coast, and areas in between. Between California and South Carolina in the southern United States and in northern Mexico, Canada geese are mainly present as migrants. from further north during the winter.
Breeding: During the second year of their lives, Canada geese find a mate. They are monogamous, and most couples stay together all of their lives. If one dies, the other may find a new mate. The female lays from two to nine eggs with an average of five, and both parents protect the nest while the eggs incubate.
Status: Species of least concern. (Canada geese were eliminated in Ohio following the American Civil War but were reintroduced in 1956 with 10 pairs. The geese are considered protected, though a hunting season is allowed from September 1–15, with a daily of five.)


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Mallard
(Anas platyrhynchos)
image by: Richard Bartz
Range: See map
Diet: Dabblers ride high along the water, skimming the surface for food. They'll tip their head underwater and stick their bottoms straight up in the air while noshing on seeds, grains, plants, insects and worms.
Migration: The Mallard is strongly migratory in the northern parts of its breeding range, and winters farther south. In North America, it winters south to the southern United States and northern Mexico,[ but also regularly strays into Central America and the Caribbean between September and May.
Breeding: Mallards usually form pairs in October and November in the Northern Hemisphere until the female lays eggs at the start of the nesting season, which is around the beginning of spring. Nesting sites are typically on the ground, hidden in vegetation where the female's speckled plumage serves as effective camouflage. Egg clutches number 8–13 creamy white to greenish-buff eggs. Incubation takes 27–28 days and fledging takes 50–60 days. The ducklings are fully capable of swimming as soon as they hatch.
Status: least concern.


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American Black Duck
(Anas rubripes)
image by: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Range: See map
Diet: The American black duck is an omnivorous species with a diverse diet. It feeds by dabbling in shallow water and grazing on land. Its plant diet primarily includes a wide variety of wetland grasses and sedges, and the seeds, stems, leaves and root stalks of aquatic plants. Its animal diet includes mollusks, snails, amphipods, insects, mussels and small fishes..
Migration: It is partially migratory, and many winter in the east-central United States, especially coastal areas; some remain year-round in the Great Lakes region.
Breeding: The American black duck interbreeds regularly and extensively with the mallard, to which it is closely related.. Nest sites are well-concealed on the ground, often in uplands. Egg clutches have six to fourteen oval eggs. Both sexes share duties, although the male usually defends the territory until the female reaches the middle of her incubation period. It takes about six weeks to fledge. Once the eggs hatch, the hen leads the brood to rearing areas with abundant invertebrates and vegetation.
Status: Species of least concern.


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Chimney Swift
(Chaetura pelagica)
image by Adam Jackson
Range: The Chimney Swift is a widespread breeding visitor to much of the eastern half of the United States and the southern reaches of eastern Canada, the chimney swift migrates South America for the winter.
Diet: Like all swifts, the chimney swift forages on the wing. Studies have shown that 95 percent of its food items are flying insects, including various species of flies, ants, wasps, bees, whiteflies, aphids, scale insects, stoneflies and mayflies. It also eats airborne spiders drifting on their threads. It is an important predator of pest species such as the red imported fire ant[43] and the clover root curculio. Researchers estimate that a pair of adults provisioning a nest with three youngsters consume the weight equivalent of at least 5000–6000 housefly-sized insects per day
Breeding: The chimney swift is a monogamous breeder which normally mates for life, though a small percentage of birds change partners. Unlike some swift species, which mate in flight, chimney swifts mate while clinging to a vertical surface near their nest. The female typically lays 4–5 eggs. Before the arrival of European colonists into North America, the chimney swift nested in hollow trees; now, it uses human-built structures almost exclusively
Status: In 2018, the IUCN changed the chimney swift's status from near threatened to vulnerable. It has declined precipitously across the majority of its range. The causes of population declines are largely unclear, but may be related to the alteration of the insect community due to pesticide use first half of the 20th century.


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Ring-billed Gull
(Larus delawarensis)
image by Rhododendrites
Range: The ring-billed gulls' breeding habitat is near lakes, rivers, or the coast in Canada and the northern United States.
Diet: Ring-billed gulls forage in flight or pick up objects while swimming, walking or wading. They also steal food from other birds and frequently scavenge. They are omnivorous; their diet may include insects, fish, grain, eggs, earthworms and rodents. These birds are opportunistic and have adapted well to taking food when discarded or even left unattended by people.
Migration: The Ring-billed gull are migratory and most move south to the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North America, and the Great Lakes. Near the Great Lakes they may stay year-round.
Breeding: The ring-billed gulls' breeding habitat is near lakes, rivers, or the coast in Canada and the northern United States. They nest colonially on the ground, often on islands. This bird tends to be faithful to its nesting site, if not its mate, from year to year.
Status: Least concern. In the late 19th century, the ring-billed gull was hunted for its plumage.


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Great Blue Heron
(Ardea herodias)
image by tsaiprojectr
Range: The great blue heron common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North and Central America, as well as far northwestern South America, the Caribbean and the Galápagos Islands.
Diet: The primary food for the great blue heron is fish. They prey on various sizes of fish from small fingerlings to large adult fish. Besides fish, it also known to feed on a wide range of prey,. Amphibians such as leopard frogs, American bullfrogs, toads and salamanders are readily taken, as well as reptiles such as small turtles, snakes and lizards.
Migration: Birds east of the Rocky Mountains in the northern part of their range are migratory and winter in the coastal areas of the Southern United States, Central America, or northern South America. From the Southern United States southwards, and on the lower Pacific coast, they are year-round residents.
Breeding: Males arrive at colonies first and settle on nests, where they court females; most males choose a different nest each year. Great blue herons build a bulky stick nest. Reproduction is negatively affected by human disturbance, particularly during the beginning of nesting. Repeated human intrusion into nesting areas often results in nest failure, with abandonment of eggs. The female lays three to six pale blue eggs.
Status: Least concern

