What can you find on the Refuge? This list is a sampling of the many native species found in Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin. Have you spotted something? Send us a note, or share a photo and we will post it on our social media. Come back to this page to see new updates & information.
HINT: Looking for more? Try a Google search using the Latin name – often this results in finding more information and images.
Animals
American Badger (Taxidea taxus)
Bobcat (Lynx rufus)
Chipmunk (Tamias striatus)
Coyote (Canis latrans)
Eastern Cottontail Rabbit (Sylvilagus floridanus)
Eastern Mole (Scalopus aquaticus)
Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus)
Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus tridecemlineatus)
Plains Pocket Gopher
Raccoon
Red Fox
Striped Skunk
Tree Squirrel
Virginia Opossum
Vole
Woodchuck or Groundhog
Birds
American Crow
American Robin
Black-Capped Chickadee
Brown Creeper
Canada Goose
Chipping Sparrow
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna)
Eastern Wild Turkey
European Starling
Grasshopper Sparrow
Hairy Woodpecker
Hermit Thrush
House Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-Bellied Woodpecker
Red-Winged Blackbird
Ruby Crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula)
Sandhill Crane
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Wood Thrush
Bird Resource Links:
McHenry Audubon
McHenry Audubon’s Checklist of Birds
Butterflies:
Buckeye
Checkered Skipper
Giant Swallowtail
Tiger Swallowtail
Monarch (Danaus plexippus)
Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa)
Painted Lady
Regal Fritillary
Spring Azure (Celastrina ladon)
Viceroy
Butterfly Resource Links:
McHenry County Audubon Checklist of Butterflies
Dragonflies
Black Saddlebags
Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis)
Common Green Darner (Anax junius)
Eastern Amberwing
Eastern Pondhawk
Halloween Pennant (Celithemis eponina)
Slaty Skimmer
Twelve Spotted Skimmer (Libellula pulchella)
Dragonfly Resource Links:
Wild About Illinlois Dragonflies and Damselflies!
Fish
Bluegill, Lepomis macrochirus
Brook Stickleback, Culaea inconstans
Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus
Fantail Darter, Etheostoma flabellare
Orange Spotted Sunfish, Lepomis humilis
Pumpkinseed, Lepomis gibbosus
Smallmouth Bass, Micropterus dolomieu
Yellow Bullhead, Ameiurus natalis
Frogs & Toads
American Toad
Cricket Frog
Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor)
Western Chorus Frog
Bullfrog
Green Frog
Pickerel Frog
Northern Leopard Frog
Salamanders
Blue-Spotted Salamander
Tiger Salamander
Mudpuppy
Snakes
Fox Snake
Gopher Snake (Pituophis catenifer)
Milk Snake
North American Racer (Coluber constrictor)
Plains Garter Snake
Red-bellied Mudsnake (Farancia abacura)
Smooth Greensnake (Opheodrys vernalis)
Turtles
Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina)
Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta)
Blanding’s Turtle (Emydoidea blandingii)
False Map Turtle (Graptemys psuedogeographica)
Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina)
Common Musk Turtle (Sternotherus odoratus)