Animals

Deer on Yorktown Battlefield

Charles D. Rafkind

White-tailed deer graze along the edges of woodlands, bald eagles and osprey feed their young in nests, and turtles cross the roadways. Salt marshes along the York River provide homes for fiddler crabs, while dragonflies and beavers are active around freshwater ponds. Over 200 species of birds, 40 mammals, 90 fish, and 50 amphibians and reptiles, as well as hundreds of species of insects, live in the park at least part of the year.

Native Americans and colonists used an abundance of game, fish, and shellfish to feed their families. Over time, colonists converted forests into farm fields. Colonial National Historical Park's trails and roadways are designed to allow you to experience a rural agricultural setting similar to that of the Colonial period. Since the forests and fields are protected, the park now supports a relatively large number of animals. Some species, such as otters, bobcats and beavers, have rebounded.

You can help us protect turtles in the park!

Surveys conducted within the park report several rare animal species. You may see abundant wildlife from the Jamestown Loop Trail and the Yorktown Battlefield Tour Roads. Overwintering seabirds and ducks bob in the York River, while winter egrets and herons fish in the the freshwater marshes bordering the James River.

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• Amphibians

• Birds

• Fish

• Insects, Spiders, etc.

• Mammals

• Reptiles

 

Animal and Plant Checklist

 

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Species Attribute Definitions

Definitions

Occurrence

Occurrence values are defined below. One or more Occurrence Tags may be associated with each Occurrence value.

Present: Species occurs in park; current, reliable evidence available.

Probably Present: High confidence species occurs in park but current, verified evidence needed.

Unconfirmed: Species is attributed to park but evidence is weak or absent.

Not In Park: Species is not known to occur in park.

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Occurrence Tags

Adjacent: Species is known to occur in areas near to or contiguous with park boundaries.

False Report: Species was reported to occur within the park, but current evidence indicates the report was based on misidentification, a taxonomic concept no longer accepted, or other similar problem of error or interpretation.

Historical: Species' historical occurrence in park is documented. Assigned based on judgment as opposed to determination based on age of the most recent evidence.

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Abundance

Abundant:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, and counted in relatively large numbers.
• Plants: Large number of individuals; wide ecological amplitude or occurring in habitats covering a large portion of the park.

Common:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, but not in large numbers.
• Plants: Large numbers of individuals predictably occurring in commonly encountered habitats but not those covering a large portion of the park.

Uncommon:

• Animals: Likely to be seen monthly in appropriate habitat and season. May be locally common.
• Plants: Few to moderate numbers of individuals; occurring either sporadically in commonly encountered habitats or in uncommon habitats.

Rare:

• Animals: Present, but usually seen only a few times each year.
• Plants: Few individuals, usually restricted to small areas of rare habitat.

Occasional:

• Animals: Occurs in the park at least once every few years, varying in numbers, but not necessarily every year.
• Plants: Abundance variable from year to year (e.g., desert plants).

Unknown: Abundance unknown

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Nativeness

Native: Species naturally occurs in park or region.

Non-native: Species occurs on park lands as a result of deliberate or accidental human activities.

Unknown: Nativeness status is unknown or ambiguous.

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List Differences

The Checklist contains only those species that are designated as "present" or "probably present" in the park.

The Full List includes all the checklist species in addition to species that are unconfirmed, historically detected, or incorrectly reported as being found in the park. The full list also contains species that are "in review" because their status in the park hasn't been fully determined. Additional details about the status of each species is included in the full list.

The checklist will almost always contain fewer species than the full list.

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Colonial National Historical Park

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Species attribute definitions

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