Nature Article
Living With Urban Wildlife
01/01/2010
Kyle Spinks, Natural Resources Technician
One of the best things about living in the Portland metropolitan region is the wealth of natural areas in and around our urban neighborhoods. Brightly colored songbirds sing in the trees, deer wander along the stream corridors, beaver and otters play in 
streams and ponds, and raptors soar overhead. Often all this happens within a stone's throw of our back doors!
With this abundance of wildlife in our back yards comes the occasional run-in with that very same wildlife. Most of the time it's something minor, such as deer nibbling in our vegetable gardens or the occasional mouse that takes up residence in the garage. But sometimes it's a little more involved: a woodpecker rapping on our gutters or on the siding of the house, a nosy raccoon in the garbage cans.
Dealing with such conflicts is often a matter of thinking creatively and addressing the needs of both the wildlife and the people at the same time. Happy coexistence with the animals that pass through our back yards will both increase the enjoyment of seing that wildlife, and decrease the problems such encounters may bring.
Audubon Society of Portland, through their newly established Urban Wildlife Resource Office, has numerous articles on some of the urban wildlife you may meet in your back yard.
Click on http://audubonportland.org/backyardwildlife/brochures to find articles about living with the wildlife that visits you.
If you have questions or comments about animals you encounter in the Park District, please contact the Natural Resources Department at 503-629-6350 x2950 or nature@thprd.org.
