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Learn the wildlife of the U.S. national parks

Learn the wildlife of Indiana Dunes National Park

IN

3,799 species have research-grade observations inside Indiana Dunes National Park on iNaturalist. KnowKi turns the most recorded into short lessons with real photos, so you know what you're looking at before you go.

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Āki the kiwi, KnowKi's guide

Most recorded here

The species with the most research-grade observations on iNaturalist, and how many each has. Most recorded doesn't mean native.

Birds

  1. Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis266
  2. Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus235
  3. American Goldfinch Spinus tristis213
  4. American Robin Turdus migratorius204
  5. Red-headed Woodpecker Melanerpes erythrocephalus202
  6. Canada Goose Branta canadensis199
  7. Downy Woodpecker Dryobates pubescens169
  8. Gray Catbird Dumetella carolinensis167
  9. Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis165
  10. Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata163

Plants

  1. Hairy puccoon Lithospermum caroliniense538
  2. Sassafras Sassafras albidum526
  3. Sundial Lupine Lupinus perennis491
  4. Eastern Pricklypear Opuntia cespitosa447
  5. Eastern Skunk Cabbage Symplocarpus foetidus430
  6. Flowering spurge Euphorbia corollata428
  7. Red columbine Aquilegia canadensis412
  8. Common hoptree Ptelea trifoliata380
  9. Common milkweed Asclepias syriaca341
  10. Star-flowered lily-of-the-valley Maianthemum stellatum329

Mammals

  1. American Red Squirrel Tamiasciurus hudsonicus196
  2. White-tailed Deer Odocoileus virginianus101
  3. Eastern Chipmunk Tamias striatus90
  4. Eastern Fox Squirrel Sciurus niger88
  5. Common Raccoon Procyon lotor76
  6. Eastern Gray Squirrel Sciurus carolinensis75
  7. American Beaver Castor canadensis50
  8. Muskrat Ondatra zibethicus43
  9. Eastern Cottontail Sylvilagus floridanus40

Insects

  1. Monarch Danaus plexippus218
  2. Spicebush Swallowtail Papilio troilus135
  3. Common Eastern Bumble Bee Bombus impatiens110
  4. Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta94
  5. Asian Lady Beetle Harmonia axyridis84
  6. Large Milkweed Bug Oncopeltus fasciatus84
  7. Banded Tussock Moth Halysidota tessellaris81
  8. Blue Dasher Pachydiplax longipennis75
  9. Milkweed Tussock Moth Euchaetes egle75
  10. Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Papilio glaucus73

Spiders and kin

  1. American Nursery Web Spider Pisaurina mira45
  2. American Dog Tick Dermacentor variabilis39
  3. Lone Star Tick Amblyomma americanum37
  4. White-banded Crab Spider Misumenoides formosipes36
  5. Spined Micrathena Micrathena gracilis30
  6. Dark Fishing Spider Dolomedes tenebrosus27
  7. Shoreline Wolf Spider Arctosa littoralis25

Reptiles

  1. Six-lined Racerunner Aspidoscelis sexlineatus331
  2. Painted Turtle Chrysemys picta154
  3. Common Snapping Turtle Chelydra serpentina121
  4. DeKay's Brownsnake Storeria dekayi108
  5. Eastern Hognose Snake Heterodon platirhinos95
  6. Common Garter Snake Thamnophis sirtalis94
  7. Common Watersnake Nerodia sipedon89

Amphibians

  1. Green Frog Lithobates clamitans150
  2. Eastern Red-backed Salamander Plethodon cinereus136
  3. American Toad Anaxyrus americanus90
  4. Fowler's Toad Anaxyrus fowleri90
  5. American Bullfrog Lithobates catesbeianus87
  6. Spring Peeper Pseudacris crucifer62
  7. Wood Frog Lithobates sylvaticus36
  8. Gray Treefrog Dryophytes versicolor27

Mollusks

  1. Quagga Mussel Dreissena bugensis34
  2. Zebra Mussel Dreissena polymorpha24
  3. Asian Clam Corbicula fluminea21

How a trip works

A trip has its own trail of lessons: meet six species, match them to new photos, then practice with four choices. Species you learn go into your Fieldbook, and starting a trip earns its Passport stamp. Your home place stays as it is.

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Species lists and counts from research-grade observations on iNaturalist, as of October 2026. KnowKi is not affiliated with the National Park Service. Free, with no ads, no account and no purchases.