Door County Wildlife & How Best to See the Animals
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Every season brings a chance for unforgettable Door County wildlife encounters. If wildlife viewing is on your itinerary, you’ve come to the right page. We’ve gathered places to go and what to look for to safely and respectfully admire these incredible animals, including some insights from Crossroads at Big Creek Executive Director Samantha Koyen.
Your best chance to see Door County’s wildlife, according to Koyen, is early morning or late afternoon in quiet areas away from people. Before you head out, brush up on the Door County Leave No Trace Principles so you can help us keep wildlife wild.
Door County Birds
Door County is a true bird-lovers paradise. You’ll find more than 300 species of birds, including cranes, chickadees, pelicans, tundra swans, cardinals, indigo buntings, great blue herons, osprey, meadowlarks, waterfowl, woodpeckers, and even bald eagles.
So many winged creatures have flown and lived in these parts that Baileys Harbor, Ephraim, Egg Harbor, Sturgeon Bay, and Washington Island have earned Bird City Wisconsin distinction. This distinction recognizes communities that protect and educate people about birds while maintaining safe and healthy environments for wildlife.
“Door County sits in the Mississippi flyway. What this means is the volume and diversity of birds seen in Door County is truly impressive,” said Koyen. “The best time to see them is during migration. I find spring is easier to observe migratory warblers before leaf out.”
Bring your binoculars, camera, and this local Birding Guide (PDF) and observe the beauty of the bird world in these spots:
- Open Door Bird Sanctuary
- The Clearing Folk School
- Door County Land Trust properties
- Plum Island or Washington Island
Mammals in Door County
Forest-dwelling animals in Door County, from large white-tail deer, badgers, red and gray foxes, and beavers to small mammals in Wisconsin, such as gray and red squirrels, chipmunks, and a host of rodents can be found throughout the woods, forests, and wetlands of Door County.
You’d probably prefer not to run into one, but black bears and grey wolves have also been spotted in Door County. Bears and wolves are not day-to-day concerns. These predators are typically fearful of humans and will avoid contact, but they do live in or wander into the county and occasionally appear.
Your best bet for spotting this wildlife in Door County, Wisconsin, is in areas such as:
“White-tail deer are best to see year-round, but I particularly enjoy fall during the rut when males have hard antlers or in summer when you can come across fawns,” she said, “Red and grey fox are visible all year, but for me, the best time of year to see them is winter when their coats are thick or in spring when there are kits around, because who doesn’t love a baby fox?”
Door County Fish
In Lake Michigan, fish enthusiasts can catch (or catch-and-release) trout, sturgeon, bass, chinook salmon, whitefish, walleye, and northern pike. In inland lakes, they’ll find panfish like bluegill and perch. Some fish can be found in shallower waters and caught and admired from marinas or kayaks, but others require full boat trips out onto the lake or Green Bay.
In addition to fish, the Door County area has plenty of other water-dwelling wildlife, such as:
- Amphibians: frogs, toads, salamanders, and newts
- Reptiles: turtles and nearly 10 species of snakes
- Mollusks: snails, slugs, and mussels
If you’re searching for other water-dwellers, you’ll want to head to lakes, islands, beaches and other watery environments by boat, kayak, or canoe. A fishing charter also ups your odds of seeing large or unusual fish.
Spotting local fauna won’t necessarily be easy, quick, or simple; it requires patience, luck, and, most elusively, the cooperation of the animals. You can’t exactly plan a wildlife sighting or be sure your outing will yield amazing photographs or memories.
But this unpredictability, this risk, lends meaning and excitement to wildlife viewing. It makes the reward — locking eyes with a white-tailed deer for a fleeting moment or photographing a red-haired pileated woodpecker — all the sweeter and more satisfying.
More on Protecting Local Wildlife
Keeping wildlife wild and doing one’s part to protect Door County animals of all kinds — from the largest mammals to the tiniest insects — is everyone’s responsibility.
“It is better to give nature space to live, so enjoy wildlife sightings quietly to observe them as they go about their day. You can look for signs of wildlife and watch for scat and tracks,” said Koyen. “Make sure to clean up after you visit, clean equipment to limit the introduction of invasive species, and pack all trash out with you.”
Here are tips on how to do your part.
About Samantha Koyen
Sam Koyen joined Crossroads at Big Creek in 2023 as the executive director for the 200-acre nature preserve and learning center located in Sturgeon Bay. Its mission is to inspire environmental stewardship in learners of all ages and backgrounds through education, research, land restoration and outdoor experiences. She has a B.S. in Biology and Environmental Science from Juniata College – Huntington, PA, and a M.S. in Sustainability Science with a concentration in Natural Resource Conservation from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
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