Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
(440) 286-9516

Wildlife Sightings

Spot some local wildlife? Tell us about it!

Use the form below – including photos, if you have them – to let us know the date, time and location of your sighting (be it in the parks or in your own backyard), as well as what type of wildlife you spotted and the behavior you observed.

Your regular reports will help populate this page for the enjoyment of your community of fellow Nature lovers and the interests of our Natural Resource Management team. Thanks in advance!

Please note that while this form does collect your name and contact information, those items will not be posted with your sighting, only used in case we need to contact you for additional details.

Report Your Findings

Step 1 of 4 - Sighting Date & Time

  • MM slash DD slash YYYY
  • :

  • River Otter

    Date: Aug 15, 2025 at 4:00 pm

    Location: The Rookery

    Wildlife Seen: At least one River Otter

    Behavior Observed:

    Snorting. Swimming. Watching me as I took pictures.

  • Scarlet Tanager

    Date: Jun 02, 2025 at 4:15 pm

    Location: Welton's Gorge Preserve

    Wildlife Seen: 1 Scarlet Tanager

    Behavior Observed:

    Noticed in the trees over the trail. I could not get a photo.

  • Black Bear

    Date: Jun 24, 2025 at 3:35 am

    Location: Montville

    Wildlife Seen: 1 Black Bear

    Behavior Observed:

    Walked by our doorbell camera

  • Black Bear

    Date: Jun 19, 2025 at 10:10 pm

    Location: Chesterland backyard creek

    Wildlife Seen: 1 Black Bear

    Behavior Observed:

    Standing up in the creek near fallen trees/branches, eating

  • Mink

    Date: Jun 03, 2025 at 12:00 pm

    Location: my yard

    Wildlife Seen: 6 to 8 Mink

    Behavior Observed:

    Came out all together from under my deck and ran into the woods.

  • Sandhill Crane

    Date: May 03, 2025 at 6:45 pm

    Location: Nero Preserve

    Wildlife Seen:

    Behavior Observed:

    Trumpeting mid-day

  • Escaped Captive Chukar

    Date: Apr 10, 2025 at 9:30 pm

    Location: Rt 6 in chardon

    Wildlife Seen: 1 Chukar

    Behavior Observed:

    Perched on stump

    Naturalist's Response

    This is a Chukar, which is native to the Middle East, and yes, it is almost certainly an escapee from someone local. Thanks for your report!

    -Chief Naturalist John Kolar

  • Sandhill Crane

    Date: Apr 13, 2025 at 12:30 pm

    Location: Stafford and Munn Rds

    Wildlife Seen: 1 Sandhill Crane

    Behavior Observed:

    Flew in and landed on the edge of the corn field. Walked along searching/feeding for about ten minutes, then I lost track.

  • Bat

    Date: Apr 08, 2025 at 7:30 pm

    Location: My home in Auburn

    Wildlife Seen: 1 Bat

    Behavior Observed:

    Sleeping in a corner alone outside our front door. He leaves at night. What do we do? He is back today.

    Naturalist's Response

    You’ve got a bat roosting on the outside of your house? How cool! Our advice is to enjoy your bat neighbor.
    We had the same thing happen here at The West Woods Nature Center: one spring, a Big Brown Bat took up residence in a little gap in our roof. Here’s a rotten photo.
    And here’s the same bat after it came outside.
    While bats that come indoors can be a nuisance (and we have some great advice on dealing with indoor bats), a single bat taking up residence on the exterior of your house isn’t really a problem. In fact, plenty of us have bats roosting on the outside of our houses and garages that go completely unnoticed!
    Big Brown Bats in particular make a habit of roosting alone on human-built structures; they seem to tolerate the presence of humans well.  They’ll find any dry, sheltered cranny on the outside of a building and then scooch themselves in. It gives them a snug, sheltered spot to wait out the daylight hours. Then they’ll emerge at night and spend the evening flapping around your garden and eating insects. They’re a treat to watch!
    If your bat has taken up residence in an inconvenient spot (as our bat at the nature center did), you can try to encourage it to find another spot. One way to try this is to hang up a bat house nearby. These offer cozy roosting spots that bats see as prime real estate. With any luck, your bat might choose to move on to the bat house.
    Your other option is to take the patient route (which is what we did with our bat at the nature center). Wait until the bat has left, then fill in or block its former roosting spot. (We used expanding-foam insulation to fill up the roofing gap after our bat had moved on.) I had luck with this technique at my house: we encouraged a bat to move from a gap in the house’s siding and into a bat house. The bat (which we named “Squeaks”) spent the summer wheeling around our neighborhood, feasting on insects.
    Good luck!
    -Naturalists Linda Gilbert & Chris Mentrek

  • Coyote

    Date: Apr 07, 2025 at 6:00 pm

    Location: 405 Deer Creek

    Wildlife Seen: 1 Coyote

    Behavior Observed:

    Attacked goose nest and now lying next to pond outside our window. Worried about small pets in neighborhood.

    Naturalist's Response

    Thanks for your coyote sighting report. Studies by OSU professor and leading coyote authority Dr. Stan Gehrt revealed that coyotes are one of the top predators on Canada Goose nests. He has trail camera footage of coyotes with goose eggs in their mouths. Sometimes coyotes may also take adult geese if they can manage to catch one. This is normal behavior and a great example of a mammal taking advantage of an abundant food source, ie. geese. Also, while coyotes are mostly nocturnal, they may be seen occasionally during the day.
    Small pets may be an issue if they are outside unsupervised and off leash. We are in coyote breeding season right now, so coyotes may show signs of aggression with pups in the den. Pups are born in April or May. Normally, coyotes want nothing to do with people. It is up to folks to ensure things stay that way by not leaving food or garbage around their houses which might encourage coyotes. Folks should also make sure that all pets, especially small ones, are attended by their owners when outside whether in the backyard or walking at a park. Please note that Geauga Park District has leash laws so that incidents with coyotes will not become an issue.
    Attached is a picture of our park sign that has good information about coyotes. Folks may see these signs posted in some of our parks. Again, thanks for your report!
    -Naturalist Linda Gilbert