Bio-diversity and Species Listing (Fauna)
Pleasant Valley Park is very valuable ecologically because of its size. Biologists have found that when a wooded area gets smaller than 100 hectares (247 acres) the probability of finding certain species of wildlife drops sharply. PV Park is over 15 acres larger than the critical point where bio diversity begins to plummet, so it could serve as a valuable refuge for certain species of birds. For that reason alone, it is worth saving and a valuable asset to the community. Besides serving as a possible wildflower refugia, it may also be important someday as a wildlife corridor. It is another place to control the deer population and a place for old growth to develop. The terrain is particularly scenic, and like Duff Park, when the trees mature, could draw tourists. It is worth keeping, now and even more so in the future.
Species Lists - Fauna (10/5/11)
Also available in a printer-friendly version (Opens in new tab or window).
| Birds | ||
|---|---|---|
| American robin | Flicker | Rose-breasted grosbeak |
| American woodcock | Field sparrow | |
| Baltimore oriole | Golden crowned kinglet | Ruffed grouse |
| Barn swallow | Goldfinch | Scarlet tanager |
| Barred owl | Grackle | Screech owl |
| Black billed cuckoo | Great horned owl | Song sparrow |
| Blue jay | Hairy woodpecker | Starling |
| Bluebird | Hooded warbler | Tufted titmouse |
| Blue-winged warbler | Indigo bunting | Turkey |
| Brewster's warbler | Kentucky warbler | Turkey vulture |
| Brown thrasher | Louisiana waterthrush | White-breasted nuthatch |
| Brown-headed cowbird | Mallard duck | |
| Cardinal | Mourning dove | White-crowned sparrow |
| Carolina chickadee | Northern cardinal | |
| Catbird | Northern flicker | White-eyed vireo |
| Cedar waxwing | Ovenbird | Willow flycatcher |
| Common yellowthroat | Pileated woodpecker | Winter wren |
| Crow | Red-bellied woodpecker | Wood thrush |
| Downy woodpecker | Red-eyed vireo | Yellow rumped warbler |
| Eastern phoebe | Red-tailed hawk | |
| Eastern towhee | Robin | Yellow-billed cuckoo |
| Herpetiles | ||
|---|---|---|
| American toad | Green frog | Red spotted newt |
| Box turtle | Mountain dusky salamander | Spotted salamander |
| Bullfrog | Northern ringneck snake | Spring peeper |
| Dusky salamander | Northern water snake | Two lined salamander |
| Garter snake | Northern banded water snake | Wood frog tadpoles |
| Gray tree frog | Northern two lined salamander | Wood frog |
| Mammals | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bat, large brown | Groundhog | Red fox |
| Bat, small brown | Gray squirrel | Jumping mouse |
| Eastern chipmunk | Long-tailed weasel | White-tailed Deer |
| Flying squirrel | Opossum | White-footed mouse |
| Fox squirrel | Raccoon | |
| Butterflies | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cabbage white butterfly | Least skipper | Question mark butterfly |
| Compton's tortoise shell | Little wood satyr | Red admiral |
| Eastern tailed blue | Monarch | Spring azure butterfly |
| Hackberry emperor | Mourning cloak butterfly | Tulip tree beauty |
| Juvenal's duskywing | Northern pearly-eye | Wild indigo duskywing |
| Dragonflies | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ebony jewelwing | 12 spotted skimmer | Black saddlebag |
| Spiders | |
|---|---|
| Daddy-long legs (several species) | Jumping spider (several species) |
| Insects (in General) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bee fly | Goldenrod gall moth | Seven-spotted ladybug |
| Buffalo treehopper (Ceresa spp) |
Grapevine epimenis moth |
Shadow darner |
| Shield-backed katydid (Atlanicus spp.) |
||
| Bumblebee | Green shield bug | |
| Carpenter bee | Handsome trig | Snipefly, golden-backed |
| Click beetle | Honeybee | Snout-nosed leafhopper (Scolops spp) |
| Common white tail | Japanese beetle | |
| Differential grasshopper |
Large lace-border moth (Scropula limboundata) |
Spotted cucumber beetle |
| Striped cucumber beetle | ||
| Dogbane beetle | Sweat bee | |
| Goldenrod bunch gall midge |
Largid bug (species unknown) |
True katydid |
| Goldenrod gall fly | Preying mantis | Two-spotted stinkbug (Perillus bioculatus) |
| Fish | |
|---|---|
| Black nosed dace | Shiner species |
| Aquatic Invertebrates | ||
|---|---|---|
| Crane fly larva | Mayfly nymph | Water striders |
| Crayfish | Stonefly larva | |
| Dragonfly larva | Water boatman | |
| Tracks and Signs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Accipiter nest | Deer tracks | Raccoon tracks |
| Bald-faced hornet nest | Flying squirrel nest | Red fox tracks |
| Baltimore oriole nest | Gray squirrel nest | Red-eyed vireo nest |
| Blue jay nest | Opossum tracks | Ruffed grouse |
| Bobcat tracks | Pileated woodpecker holes | Sapsucker scars |
| Cardinal nest | Praying Mantis egg case | Mouse tracks |
Do you like to take photos of wildlife and plants? We would love to have photo examples of all the flora and fauna on our species lists. However, the photos MUST be taken in Pleasant Valley Park in Murrysville.
Contact Bonnie Belak at 724-327-6885 to discuss submitting your photos.