Find Nature In Ohio

Additional Wildlife of Ohio

To flesh out your understanding of the region’s natural history, here is a breakdown of the specific taxa you can expect to encounter in the Buckeye State.

Birds (Avifauna) Ohio is world-renowned for “The Biggest Week in American Birding,” centered around the migration of Wood Warblers through the marshes of Lake Erie. The Prothonotary Warbler is a star attraction here, nesting in cavities over standing water in flooded timber. In the grasslands of the reclaimed strip mines in the southeast, the Henslow’s Sparrow—a species in steep decline elsewhere—finds a stronghold. The Northern Cardinal is the state bird and is ubiquitous, having expanded its range north as forests were cleared for settlement.

Mammals The Bobcat is the great conservation comeback story of Ohio. Once extirpated from the state, they have recolonized the unglaciated hill country of the southeast and are now regularly sighted on trail cameras. The White-tailed Deer population is immense, influencing plant succession across the state through intense browsing pressure. In the agricultural west, the American Badger is a rare but present resident, burrowing in the open landscapes that mimic the prairies of the west.

Insects The Karner Blue Butterfly is a federally endangered species found in the Oak Openings region, dependent entirely on wild lupine which grows in the sandy savannas. Ohio is also a diversity hotspot for Dragonflies and Damselflies, particularly in the glacial kettle lakes and fens; species like the Hine’s Emerald Dragonfly are of critical conservation interest. The Monarch Butterfly uses Ohio as a major corridor, with the Lake Erie shoreline serving as a staging ground before they cross the water or head south to Mexico.

Plants The Ohio Buckeye is the state tree, recognizable by its five-leaflet palmate leaves and nuts that resemble the eye of a deer. However, the Pawpaw is the ecological hidden gem; it is North America’s largest native edible fruit, growing in the understory of deep woods and producing a custard-like fruit with a tropical flavor. In the spring, the forest floors are covered in Large-flowered Trillium, the state wildflower, which is highly sensitive to deer grazing and serves as an indicator of forest health.

Fungi Ohio is a epicenter for Morel hunting in the spring. The dying elms and old apple orchards of the glaciated plains provide ideal substrate for these honeycomb-capped mushrooms. Dryad’s Saddle (Pheasant Back) is another common spring mushroom found on dead hardwoods, smelling distinctly of watermelon rind. In the fall, the oak forests produce Chicken of the Woods (Laetiporus sulphureus), a bright orange, shelf-like fungus that is a favorite among foragers for its texture.

Ohio Biodiversity Profile

Ohio is a state bifurcated by ice. The defining ecological feature is the Glacial Boundary, a geological line that roughly splits the state diagonally from the southwest to the northeast. To the north and west lies the Till Plains, a landscape flattened by massive ice sheets during the Wisconsin glaciation. While heavily converted to agriculture, this region historically supported vast wet prairies and fens. Today, remnants of these habitats, such as the Oak Openings near Toledo, are biodiversity hotspots hosting globally rare communities of plants and insects on sandy, ancient beach ridges left behind by prehistoric versions of Lake Erie.

To the south and east of this line lies the Unglaciated Allegheny Plateau. Here, the glaciers stopped, leaving the ancient bedrock intact. This region, encompassing the Hocking Hills and the Wayne National Forest, is rugged and dissected by deep ravines. The sandstone geology creates cool, shaded gorges where northern species like Eastern Hemlock and Canada Yew persist in microclimates that remain significantly cooler than the surrounding deciduous forest. This topographic complexity allows for a high degree of biodiversity, acting as a refuge for forest-interior species.

The northern border is defined by Lake Erie, the shallowest and most biologically productive of the Great Lakes. The Western Basin of Lake Erie is essentially a massive fish hatchery, supporting arguably the best Walleye population in the world. The coastal wetlands here, particularly Magee Marsh, act as a critical bottleneck for migratory birds. Because the birds are reluctant to cross the open water of the lake, they stack up in massive numbers along the shoreline vegetation, creating one of the most intense concentrations of biomass in the Mississippi Flyway.

Finally, the southern border is formed by the Ohio River. This massive waterway connects the state to the Mississippi system, allowing for a diverse aquatic community that includes ancient, large-bodied fish like the Paddlefish and various species of Sturgeon. The river valleys also serve as corridors for southern species expanding their ranges northward.