With the hopes of spotting tons of birds, catching snakes, and finding salamanders, we headed to the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge in Philadelphia, PA. While we weren’t able to find any salamanders, even though we flipped almost every rock in the park, we did find lots of other plant and animal species including Ospreys, Eastern Garter snakes, and Leopard slugs! See our full species list and pictures below!

Species List

eBird Checklist

Birds

  • American Crow: Corvus brachyrhynchos
  • American Goldfinch: Spinus tristis
  • American Robin: Turdus migratorius
  • Barn Swallow: Hirundo rustica
  • Black-and-white Warbler: Mniotilta varia
  • Blue-gray Gnatcatcher: Polioptila caerulea (heard only)
  • Brown-headed Cowbird: Molothrus ater
  • Canada Goose: Branta canadensis
  • Carolina Wren: Thryothorus ludovicianus
  • Caspian Tern: Hydroprogne caspia
  • Downy Woodpecker: Dryobates pubescens
  • European Starling: Sturnus vulgaris
  • Gray Catbird: Dumetella carolinensis
  • Great Blue Heron: Ardea herodias
  • House Wren: Troglodytes aedon
  • Mallard: Anas platyrhynchos
  • Northern Cardinal: Cardinalis cardinalis (heard only)
  • Osprey: Pandion haliaetus
  • Red-winged Blackbird: Agelaius phoeniceus
  • Song Sparrow: Melospiza melodia
  • Tree Swallow: Tachycineta bicolor
  • Turkey Vulture: Cathartes aura
  • Warbling Vireo: Vireo gilvus
  • White-throated Sparrow: Zonotrichia albicollis
  • Wood Duck: Aix sponsa
  • Yellow-rumped Warbler: Setophaga coronata
  • Yellow Warbler: Setophaga petechia

Reptiles

  • Eastern Garter Snake: Thamnophis sirtalis
  • Eastern Painted Turtle: Chrysemys picta picta
  • Red-eared Slider: Trachemys scripta

Amphibians

  • American Bullfrog: Lithobates catesbeianus

Fish

  • Largemouth Bass: Micropterus salmoides
  • Northern Snakehead: Channa argus

Mollusks

  • Leopard Slug: Limax maximus
  • Western Dusky Slug: Arion subfuscus

Insects

  • Garden Whites: Pieris sp.

Plants

  • Garlic Mustard: Alliaris petiolata
  • Spring Beauties: Claytonia sp.
  • Violet: Viola sp.

Pictures

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Birds

Caspian Tern.
Osprey.
Great Blue Heron.
From left to right: Tree Swallow and Downy Woodpecker.
Red-winged Blackbird.
From left to right: Black-and-white Warbler and American Goldfinch.
Gray Catbird.
Barn Swallow.

Herps

Eastern Garter Snake. Photo by Jody M. Taft.
From left to right: American Bullfrog and Garter snakes.
From left to right: Eastern Painted Turtle and a group of Red-eared Sliders basking on a log.

Fish

Northern Snakehead.