Urban wildlife is all around us though often hidden
- Staci-lee Sherwood
- Nov 2
- 9 min read
By Staci-lee Sherwood
When people think of wildlife that live in their town or city they usually think of squirrels, small birds, raccoons and skunks. Plenty of other wildlife also eke out a living near people, but we don’t always see them. Some of those we know live nearby but rarely see are fox and coyote but many birds of prey have had to adapt to an ever developing world where trees and food are more abundant in cities. It’s not uncommon to find owls, hawks, falcons and osprey sharing their home next to yours. Even shorebirds and sea turtles share their nesting habitat as more beaches are built up and occupied by humans leaving very few unspoiled barrier islands left.
For ground nesting birds like cranes and quail their habitat often becomes a subdivision or shopping mall as sprawl moves further into rural areas. The cover photo is of a Sandhill Crane and endangered Whooping Crane whose home of an open meadow was turned into a subdivision/construction site. Despites the crane’s ability to fly, leaving a home you found safe to live and raise young is not easy.
The need to co-exist
Long before humans arrived on Earth there had been life surviving and thriving for hundreds of millions of years. While it’s true there have been 5 mass extinctions, about every 50 million years or so, the 6th mass extinction is almost entirely caused by humans. Many believe this is the final mass extinction as wild mammals (non human) make up less than 4% of all mammal species, excluding those raised as livestock. It’s not just mammals but all species from trees and wildflowers to insects and reptiles that we are losing at alarming rates.
Many scientists call this the Anthropocene Period, meaning man made caused extinctions. “As scientists, we have to be careful not to be alarmist,” Ceballos acknowledged – but the gravity of the findings in this case, he explained, called for more powerful language than usual. “We would be unethical not to explain the magnitude of the problem, since we and other scientists are alarmed” from a 2023 Stanford University report. Click here to read about the study
Most non human species are decreasing in population as we squeeze them out of their natural habitat for development, contaminate their air and water (also our water and air) kill them outright for sport and leave them with nowhere to go and little to eat. We have forever damaged the planet’s protective ozone layer and have caused the continual warming, and in some places cooling, of places unequipped for such drastic changes. If we don’t start to co-exist with other species now we will be the only species left on an unstable and dying planet.
Why so many wild animals choose city life over wilderness
Urban life for many species is not a choice but a necessity. The uninhabited space they had for millions of years has vanished. For them, living near people is based on survival and the drive to find food. As their habitat becomes more fragmented and developed their food sources vanish. Starvation can lead any animal to desperation. Some species have learned to adapt to living in close proximity to us, even thrive, but others have not fared so well. Foxes and coyotes have learned to navigate around us even in a noisy crowded habitat.
Many city dwellers describe living in such close quarters akin to being a sardine in a can. One can imagine how wild animals view this living arrangement. In the wild the gray fox territory ranges from 1- 6 miles of woodland while a coyote typically has a range up to 15 miles but in urban areas could be half that or less. Finding steady food sources and safe places to den during breeding season is a challenge not all wild canines succeed at. The need to find mates, shelter and food for pups can cause these wild canines to venture too close to high traffic roads or homeowners that prefer to call animal control than share . No one knows how many fox and coyote die this way but you can imagine the stress if you had to live under these circumstances.
For birds, especially, birds of prey, city life is tough and deadly. Owls are nocturnal but urban life is brightly lit 24/7. This leads to window strikes and makes hunting more difficult. Skyglow disrupts their natural behavior, can cause eye damage and hinder their ability to navigate. Mother nature designed owls, hawks and falcons to live in a dark quiet wilderness not a busy city.
A little kindness goes a long way. Think how you would feel losing your home your food and then being killed just because you were trying to survive and raise your offspring.
This Gray Fox makes his home on the grounds of a casino surrounded by cars and trains. Over the years this pair has raised several healthy young. but are now landlocked. The forests and meadows that used to be here have been replaced by subdivisions. Though foxes are smart animals many end up killed by cars or poisoned by those that see them as pests. If foxes are living in your neighborhood it’s because we took their home not the other way around. Clever animals, they can survive in urban areas but only out of necessity not choice.
Fox are an important part of a healthy ecosystem by helping to keep down the rodent population. Instead of using poison for a rodent problem, a family of foxes can keep them in check naturally and free of charge. Nocturnal by nature they are a rare sight to see during the day. Despite living near people they remain wary and more afraid of you then you need to be of them. While some populations are stable or increasing their populations in the Midwest have declined, so much that fox hunting has been cancelled in Illinois.
This Coyote and his mate were living on a college campus until development displaced them. Like their fellow canine the fox they can survive in crowded urban areas, mostly because they are most active at night when few people are out. Life around humans is not their first choice but a necessity as wilderness is destroyed for development, mining and logging.
We’ve all heard about coyotes killing cats or small dogs. While unfortunately that can happen it’s not as common as the rumors make it sound. If you live where coyotes are keep your cat indoors, after all they’re domestic cats not lions. Cats being killed by a car or poisoned by pesticides are far greater than killed by a coyote. As for dogs they too should be kept on a leash and not walked late at night.
Unlike wolves, coyotes tend to hunt alone but form loose family communities. Urban living means they are used to being around humans and usually move away once your presence is known because coyotes don’t look for confrontation with people. Healthy animals do not attack people, especially unprovoked. The media makes them out to a villain to us when truth is we are more a villain to them. Click here to learn more about coyotes
Birds love trees, to nest, sleep and observe. As we log what’s left of our forests more birds are forced to move to urban areas. Living in close proximity to us brings many dangers, and most we can help mitigate if we choose. One of the biggest dangers birds face are pesticides (herbicides in the garden and rodenticide) ‘67 million wild birds may be killed every year by pesticides in the U. S.’ according to the American Bird Conservancy in 2022, the US Fish & Wildlife think it might be as high as 72 million birds every year.
The 2nd biggest cause of death and injury are window strikes from both migratory birds and local residents. A staggering 1,000,000,000 birds every year die this way. Click here to read more about window strikes and the need for bird safe window treatments and decreasing artificial light at night (which is also damaging to us humans) https://abcbirds.org/news/bird-building-collisions-study-2024/
By far the biggest threat to birds is predation by outdoor cats (feral and pets), estimated to kill a whooping 2-4,000,000,000 birds every year. As we cut down our forests more birds are forced into the urban areas where dangers they never encounter in the wilderness hide. These numbers are not sustainable.
Rachel Carson was right when she wrote Silent Spring in 1962. The book was a blatant warning we have ignored to our own peril and to the extreme population decline in other species. It’s never too late to read the warning and change our ways. Click here to read this book and see the how’s and why’s we have lost billions of birds
This Eurasian Collard Dove made her nest in a noisy carport. Despite having many trees around she felt safer in the parking lot. After two attempts both nests failed.
This Sandhill Crane pair raised their colt at a manmade wetlands with lots of human visitors. The name ‘wetlands’ is misleading because the water is reclaimed and then filtered so this is not clean pristine water they would find in a natural pond or river. The park, which has several sports fields, is surrounded on all sides by subdivisions, construction and roads. The entire area was open meadow just a few decades ago. While it’s amazing to see these birds raise their young it’s a stark reminder that much of the open land is gone forever.
This species stands over 5 feet tall as adults and requires a lot of open land to forage. Much of the once open prairie they used to call home is gone. Driving through rural areas it’s not uncommon to see these cranes forging in the yards of homes where wildflowers used to grow. Taking not only the crane’s home but the trees we need to breathe, the rich soil we need to grow food and the quiet we need for peace of mind, no housing development can replace that.
Many shorebird species like these Royal Terns nest on public beaches. Unfortunately these beaches do not close for nesting season and caution tape with signs offer little protection from walkers, joggers and dogs. During nesting season many chicks are trampled or are fed plastic and cigarette butts by parents desperate to find food where there is very little. Little shade from developed dunes means hotter sand and boiled eggs and chicks. Even on many nesting beaches few structures are placed nearby for shade and weather protection. Hot sun and windy storms can devastate an entire colony of nesting shorebirds with nowhere to shelter. Click here to read why driving on the beach should be banned during nesting season. https://www.realitycheckswithstacilee.com/post/trucks-shorebirds-don-t-mix-time-to-ban-this-shameful-florida-policy
This group of Royal Terns is trying to cross the beach that allows trucks to drive on it during nesting season (Hugenout County Park in Jacksonville, Fl). Despite the caution tape chicks are run over and killed every year. Neither the park officials nor the city plan to ban driving during breeding season. As terrible as beach driving is it’s not the only problem shorebirds face. Beach walkers and joggers that get too close to nesting birds or run into the group on purpose can cause nesting birds to abandon their eggs and chicks. Loose dogs can kill the birds. Beach trash often finds its way into the mouth of a chick when parents can’t find any real food. Dogs on beaches should always be on a leash.
Sea Turtles have been around for tens of millions of years and nested on quiet dark beaches for many a millennia. Now, most of those beaches are developed with houses and hotels and constant bright lights. Nesting females must navigate around the litter and lights if they want to nest. The dark beaches that gave them cover from predators no longer exist except for a few remote islands.
Artificial light, both individual and collective skyglow, cause millions of hatchlings to crawl toward the street following what they think are bright stars leading to the ocean. This is a global crisis. In Florida, depending on the beach, anywhere from half to 100% of hatchlings die this way never making it to the ocean. Only a few beaches are still dark enough for most to avoid this man made tragedy. The bulk of beaches sea turtles nested on are mostly developed and brightly light all night long. Living on the beach means be respectful of those wild animals that depend on a trash free dark environment, the same kind we would want. Click here to listen to the podcast about light pollution
How to help wildlife stay wild and away from animal control
Here are some tips to help our fellow earthlings with which we share the planet:
To help save birds from window strikes look into bird safe window treatments click here for great ideas to buy for both residential and commercial properties
https://abcbirds.org/get-involved/bird-smart-%20glass
Save birds, and all wildlife, from a painful death by not using pesticides or rodentiicdes, this also prevents your exposure to cancer causing chemicals
If you have cats please keep them indoors and if that’s not possible have them wear a collar with a bell
If you live in a cold climate put out bird houses and feeders they will be much appreciated.
For those living in coastal areas with sea turtles turn off exterior lights after dark and close drapes or t the very least change the bulbs to red ‘turtle friendly’ ones which also make it easier and safer for you to see in the dark
If you have a fox or coyote that visit your property let them be, at the very least don’t call animal control to have them killed. Look for legitimate people who trap and transport wildlife to safer habitat. Think how you would feel in their shoes.
When open space, especially in rural areas, is proposed for development get involved by attending meeting and voicing concern for the wildlife that live there. Try to shrink the size of the development and if not insure the animals there are moved to a safe wild area with similar habitat. It’s the very least developers and government officials can do for them when taking their land.