Thanks to voter investments, Metro has been able to protect and restore some of the most special natural places across greater Portland.
Those places attract not only people, but also native birds, fish and wildlife.
Please enjoy some of our favorite wildlife photos taken by staff and park visitors at Metro destinations in 2017.
And if you have a favorite nature photo (with wildlife or otherwise) taken in greater Portland, be sure to enter it into Our Big Backyard quarterly photo contest. Win an annual Metro parks pass, an overnight camping trip at Oxbow Regional Park, a tennis court session, or a round of golf for four people including cart at Glendoveer Golf and Tennis Center. Please include a 50-word caption. Send your picture and description by Feb. 15, 2018 to [email protected].
Get outside and explore
Adult ladybugs get together for warmth and hibernate in the fall and winter. You can find them gathered under logs, leaves or even in your house. Park ranger Bonnie found this cute little huddle in the restroom.
Momma and baby deer enjoy a peaceful summer day by the Sandy River at Oxbow Regional Park.
Metro arborist Howard Rasmussen made a praying mantis friend at Blue Lake Regional Park. Praying mantises are some of the only insects that can turn their head 180 degrees, making it hard to sneak up on them. Thanks for turning toward the camera, friend!
Rough-skinned newts, like this one along the Cazadero Trail, love to eat spiders, insect eggs, worms and other salamanders' larvae. They secrete a toxic substance to protect from predators, so few animals can touch or eat them without getting sick.
Rubber boas, like this one natural resource technician Ariel Whitacre found at Cooper Mountain, aren't often seen because they hide from predators and come out at night. Rubber boas are native to Oregon and are slow, docile and nonvenomous.
A colorful crab spider catches a bee searching for pollen on a globe gilia wildflower at Quamash Prairie Natural Area. Crab spiders hide inside flowers to catch prey as they approach to gather pollen. Photo by natural resource specialist Ryan Jones.
“My eyes see the beauty in everything.” This great horned owl was photographed at Raptor Road Trip on Sauvie Island in February. Through a partnership with ROSE Community Development, students took photos at several Metro sites. Photo by Dessi Moody.
A mason bee emerges from a bee box at Graham Oaks Nature Park. These native bees are amazing pollinators. They dive into flowers and get coated in pollen. They make homes in hollow reeds and tubes or in manmade mason bee boxes, with holes drilled in wood.
Volunteer Phil Nosler found this juvenile ensatina salamander at Canemah Bluff Nature Park in Oregon City along with two other salamanders.
Natural resources technician Mary Meier spotted this banded alder borer at Baker Heaton Confluence Natural Area. This native long-horned beetle lays its eggs in decaying wood of downed trees like alder, oak, willow and maple.
Amanda Kimball, photo contest winner: While leading a group of first graders on a crawdad adventure along the Clackamas River, we discovered this big beauty with a broken wing drowning in the water. After 10 minutes of sunbathing, it was able to fly away.
Here's to seeing even more wildlife at Metro destinations in 2018! Thanks, voters, for making these magical moments possible.