The Reed Canyon supports a broad array of animal life. There are breeding populations of many bird species, and the lake supports large schools of sticklebacks and other fish. The mammals are harder to spot, but quiet visitors can usually catch a glimpse of a beaver or a nutria in the upper end of the canyon toward the springs.
We don't have complete lists of all the organisms found in the canyon, but this page should give you a good sense of the variety that exists.
Amphibians
At one time, the canyon likely supported a broad range of native amphibians, but most of those animals disappeared over the past century. There is only one amphibian that is known to exist as a breeding population in the canyon right now: the Oregon salamander, Ensatina eschscholtzii oregonensis.
The Oregon salamander has been the focus of faculty research, as well as several senior theses in the biology department. Interestingly, a senior thesis from 1952 gives us a report of another salamander that existed in the canyon at that time (although it is no longer found here), the Pacific giant salamander, Dicamptodon tenebrosus.
There is also a single turtle (named "Yertle") who can usually be seen basking in the sun on a log near the amphitheater. Yertle is thought to be a former pet that was released into the canyon. As far as we know, there are no breeding pairs of turtles in the canyon at this point.
Based on their known distributions, other amphibians that might move into the canyon in the future include:
- Northwestern salamander, Ambystoma gracile
- Long-toed salamander, Ambystoma macrodactylum
- Roughskin newt, Taricha granulosa
- Western toad, Bufo boreas
- Pacific tree frog, Pseudacris regilla
- Red-legged frog, Rana aurora
- Bullfrog, Rana catesbeiana
For more information, see the Habitat Assessment of Reed Canyon from the Portland Parks and Recreation Department.
Birds
Many species of birds can be found in the canyon and several local birdwatchers have kept lists of what they've seen. A few birds, such as the mallards, are willing to tolerate the human activity around the middle of the canyon, but most birds prefer the more secluded areas to the east and west of the lake.
Here are some of the most common birds:
Ducks/Water Birds
- Wood duck
- Mallard
- Common merganser
- Bufflehead
- Ruddy duck
- American widgeon
- American coot
- Belted kingfisher
- Great blue heron
- Green-backed heron
Perching Birds
- Barn swallow
- Violet-green swallow
- Scrub jay
- Stellar's jay
- Black-capped chickadee
- Bushtit
- Bewick's wren
- Ruby-crowned kinglet
- Varied thrush
- Song sparrow
- Rufous-sided towhee
- House finch
- Evening grossbeak
- American goldfinch
- Starling
Other
- Kildeer
- Glaucous-winged gull
- American kestrel
- Western screech owl
- Sharp-shinned hawk
For more information, see:
- "Ecology of the Canyon," by Bruce Moreira
- Dave DeSante's Winter Bird List
- Jess Kimball's Bird List
- Appendix C from the Reed Canyon Brief, by Jimmy Huang
Images of most of these birds can be found on the CalPhotos web site.
Fish
With the construction of a dam and the creation of Reed Lake in the early 1900's, migrating fish were blocked from reaching the upper reaches of the canyon. Fish continued to live and spawn, however, in Crystal Springs Creek.
Here are some of the fish that have been recorded in the stream flowing out of the western end of the canyon.
- Coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch
- Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
- Steelhead and/or rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss
- Cutthroat trout, Oncorhynchus clarki clarki
- Common carp, Cyprinus carpio carpio
- Redside shiner, Richardsonius balteatus
- Speckled dace, Rhinichthys osculus
- Largescale sucker, Catostomus macrocheilus
- Bridgelip sucker, Catostomus columbianus
- Largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides
- Smallmouth bass, Micropterus dolomieui
- Bluegill, Lepomis macrochirus
- Brown bullhead, Ameiurus nebulosus
- Threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus aculeatus
- Pacific lamprey, Lampetra tridentata
- Prickly sculpin, Cottus asper
Mammals
The mammals of the Reed Canyon have not been as thoroughly studied as the birds or the fish. Several visitors have reported seeing beavers, bats, squirrels and more, but we do not have any precise information on numbers or species.
Based on their known distributions, here are some of the mammals that you might see in the canyon:
- Coyote, Canidae
- American beaver, Castor canadensis
- Nutria, Myocastor coypus
- Muskrat, Ondatra zibethicus
- Common raccoon, Procyon lotor
- Virginia opossum, Didelphis virginiana
- California ground squirrel, Spermophilus beecheyi
- Western gray squirrel, Sciurus griseus
- Vagrant shrew, Sorex vagrans
- Pacific marsh shrew, Sorex bendirii
- Brush rabbit, Sylvilagus bachmani
For more information, see the Habitat Assessment of Reed Canyon from the Portland Parks and Recreation Department.
Macroinvertebrates
For more information, see the Crystal Springs Creek data from Rick Boatner at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.