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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
  • :

  • Bald Eagle

    Date: Apr 15, 2024 at 11:45 am

    Location: Fairmount Rd East of 306

    Wildlife Seen: 1 Bald Eagle

    Behavior Observed:

    Flew down to the ground on side of road to catch prey

  • Osprey

    Date: Apr 14, 2024 at 3:23 pm

    Location: CHESTERLAND

    Wildlife Seen: 1 BIRD/OSPREY

    Behavior Observed:

    I saw a bird I’ve not seen here, twice today. Very large, coloring matches Osprey photos. Too quick to get a photo.

  • Bald Eagle

    Date: Apr 14, 2024 at 8:30 pm

    Location: Washington St & Wing Rd

    Wildlife Seen: 1 Bald Eagle

    Behavior Observed:

    Flying over my back field did two circles and headed west towards Wing Road.

  • Total eclipse of the sun

    Date: Apr 08, 2024 at 7:15 pm

    Location: Mayfield Heights Public Library

    Wildlife Seen: one Total Solar Eclipse of Sun

    Behavior Observed:

    From a spot in Cuyahoga County not far from The West Woods Nature Center, I observed the total solar eclipse with a simple, inexpensive Shade 14 Welder’s glass, then I photographed it with a somewhat primitive “flap phone” camera. People at The West Woods Nature Center must have seen something identical to what I photographed. This shows people that you can study astronomy on Geauga Park District property with simple equipment.

  • Bald Eagle

    Date: Mar 18, 2024 at 6:10 pm

    Location: Spencer Rd In Aquilla

    Wildlife Seen: 1 Bald Eagle

    Behavior Observed:

    Eagle was perched in a tree on the side of Spencer Road in Aquilla Village (off of Aquilla Rd and near Rt 322)

  • Ring-necked Duck, Bald Eagle & Mute Swan

    Date: Mar 19, 2024 at 8:45 pm

    Location: Auburn rd near LaDue

    Wildlife Seen: 24 Ring-necked duck, 1 Bald eagle, 2 Mute Swan

    Behavior Observed:

    Swimming for the aquatics, pick up fish for the eagle. No photos unfortunately, and they were all seen at the same moment it time! First time spotting & sure ID of ring-necked duck for me. Beautiful Bird-day!

  • Sandhill Cranes

    Date: Feb 27, 2024 at 5:20 pm

    Location: The Maple Highlands Trail

    Wildlife Seen: 4 Sandhill Cranes

    Behavior Observed:

    The four Sandhill Cranes were wading in the water beneath a bridge.

  • Bald Eagle

    Date: Feb 05, 2024 at 7:00 pm

    Location: Shiloh Dr. Chesterland

    Wildlife Seen: 2 Bald Eagle

    Behavior Observed:

    Nest building

  • Black Bear

    Date: Jan 26, 2024 at 7:00 pm

    Location: Walter C. Best Wildlife Preserve

    Wildlife Seen: 1 Black Bear

    Behavior Observed:

    We live on 44 near Geauga hospital and there is aBlack Bear in the area. There are tracks up and down our fence and surrounding the smaller fenced area where we let our dog out.

  • Sandhill Crane

    Date: Oct 12, 2023 at 9:30 pm

    Location: Aquilla Lake

    Wildlife Seen: 4 Sandhill Crane

    Behavior Observed:

    Flying away, about to get shot at by hunters until the hunters saw me in my kayak

    Naturalist's Response

    If you ever see suspicious activity, please contact the ODNR Division of Wildlife and leave a message for the Wildlife Officer.

    Presently the Geauga County Wildlife Officer is Matt Madgar, who can be reached at 330-245-3035.

    -Naturalist Denise Wolfe