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Wildlife near Milwaukee, WI

Illustrated wildlife of Milwaukee

Milwaukee lines up along Lake Michigan, and the lakefront concentrates the wildlife. Migrating hawks and songbirds funnel down the shore each fall, common mergansers and goldeneyes raft offshore through winter, and the three rivers that meet downtown carry herons and the occasional river otter. The neighborhoods hold fox squirrels, cottontails, and Cooper’s hawks that hunt the bird feeders straight through the cold months.

Everything below is pulled live from recent research-grade observations near Milwaukee. Browse by group, explore the map, and identify what you find with Huck.

33,631
recent observations
30
species listed
12
plants
7
insects & arthropods
7
birds

Naturalists have logged 33,631 research-grade observations across the 30 most-recorded species near Milwaukee. The most frequently seen is the Common Eastern Bumble Bee, with 2,600 recorded sightings.

Plants account for the largest share of what gets recorded there (12 of the species listed here), followed by insects & arthropods (7).

🖨️ Printable wildlife checklist

Most-observed species near Milwaukee

Common Eastern Bumble Bee
Bombus impatiens
2,600 observations
White-tailed Deer
Odocoileus virginianus
1,811 observations
Eastern Gray Squirrel
Sciurus carolinensis
1,641 observations
Mallard
Anas platyrhynchos
1,519 observations
Monarch
Danaus plexippus
1,459 observations
American Robin
Turdus migratorius
1,452 observations
Canada Goose
Branta canadensis
1,255 observations
common milkweed
Asclepias syriaca
1,171 observations
Red-belted Bumble Bee
Bombus rufocinctus
1,170 observations
Red-winged Blackbird
Agelaius phoeniceus
1,129 observations
bloodroot
Sanguinaria canadensis
1,088 observations
dame's rocket
Hesperis matronalis
1,082 observations · iNaturalist
box elder
Acer negundo
1,079 observations
Two-spotted Bumble Bee
Bombus bimaculatus
1,057 observations
Western Honey Bee
Apis mellifera
1,010 observations
common buckthorn
Rhamnus cathartica
978 observations
wild carrot
Daucus carota
975 observations
mayapple
Podophyllum peltatum
947 observations
Virginia waterleaf
Hydrophyllum virginianum
902 observations
Dryad's Saddle
Cerioporus squamosus
897 observations · iNaturalist
Eastern Cottontail
Sylvilagus floridanus
894 observations
Wild Turkey
Meleagris gallopavo
881 observations
wild geranium
Geranium maculatum
881 observations
Jack-in-the-Pulpit
Arisaema triphyllum
870 observations
House Sparrow
Passer domesticus
859 observations
Northern Cardinal
Cardinalis cardinalis
856 observations
Asian Lady Beetle
Harmonia axyridis
850 observations
Brown-belted Bumble Bee
Bombus griseocollis
783 observations
large white trillium
Trillium grandiflorum
769 observations
common jewelweed
Impatiens capensis
766 observations

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