DISCOVER:
BIRDS, FISH & OTHER ANIMALS
Living on Lake Union and Portage Bay means sharing a rare space where a vibrant city and a living ecosystem overlap. All around the boats, docks, and houseboats is a complex web of life — fish, birds, and other animals that have adapted to this urban lake and still depend on it for survival. Protecting these creatures is our mandate.
​Birds of Lake Union and Portage Bay
Birdlife is the most visible wildlife around the lake. Whether gliding across open water, diving for fish, or nesting quietly along the shoreline, birds are constant companions to life on the water.
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Waterfowl and Diving Birds
Common sights include mallards, Canada geese, gadwalls, and American wigeons, many of which live here year-round. In fall and winter, Lake Union becomes a seasonal home for large numbers of buffleheads, goldeneyes, ring-necked ducks, scaups, and mergansers, which dive beneath the surface in search of fish.
View examples:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Bufflehead
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Common_goldeneye
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Fish-Eating Birds
You may see double-crested cormorants perched on pilings drying their wings, or pied-billed grebes disappearing underwater and reappearing yards away. Great blue herons patrol shorelines with patience and precision, while osprey return each spring and summer, hovering dramatically before plunging into the lake to fish.
View examples:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Great_blue_heron
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Osprey
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Occasionally, bald eagles pass overhead or perch nearby — a powerful reminder of how far the lake has come environmentally over the decades.
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Shorebirds & Songbirds
Trees, docks, and shoreline vegetation support a wide variety of smaller birds including song sparrows, chickadees, bushtits, house finches, Northern flickers, and robins. These birds rely on insects, seeds, and safe nesting areas that exist only when shoreline habitat is protected.
View examples:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Black-capped_chickadee
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Northern_flicker
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For past posts 2021 to 2024 from our local bird expert by Dave Galvin, (Seattle Audubon “Master Birder” and houseboat resident since 1986), click here.​
Bald eagle on Fairview Avenue East
Stafford Green 2025
Ballard Locks Fish Ladder, Stafford Green 2025
The Fish Under Our Homes
Fish are the foundation of Lake Union’s ecosystem. They support birds, maintain balance in the food web, and reflect the overall health of the water.
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Resident Fish
Common fish in Lake Union and Portage Bay include smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, yellow perch, black crappie, sunfish, and brown bullhead. These species thrive in warmer, slower waters and provide food for diving birds and raptors.
View examples:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Smallmouth_bass
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Yellow_perch
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Migratory Fish
Salmon species — including Chinook, coho, and sockeye — pass through the Ship Canal and Portage Bay as part of their migration between Lake Washington and Puget Sound. Their presence connects Lake Union to a much larger regional ecosystem stretching from mountain streams to the open ocean.
View examples:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Sockeye_salmon​
Other Animals of the Lake
Beyond birds and fish, Lake Union supports other wildlife that quietly coexists with the community.
Mammals​
​Beavers are very much “in the ’hood” around Lake Union and Portage Bay, and they’re an important part of the local ecosystem. They’re especially fond of willow, cottonwood, alder, maple, and fruit trees, often cutting them down overnight. To protect trees and plants, wrapping trunks with chicken wire or hardware cloth is a simple, effective solution that keeps beavers from chewing without harming them. Beavers are mostly nocturnal, can stay underwater for up to 15 minutes, and use their dams and lodges to create safer habitat for other wildlife. While they can be enthusiastic landscapers, their work helps improve water quality and supports fish and bird life across the lake.
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​Raccoons are also common along the lake and can appear curious and playful, especially at dusk and after dark. Despite their charm, it’s best to keep your distance—never feed them, secure food and trash, and avoid close contact, as they are wild animals
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River otters occasionally appear, swimming swiftly along the shoreline or popping up unexpectedly near docks. Squirrels are common along the shore and green spaces, adapting easily to urban life.
View examples:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:North_American_river_otter
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Amphibians and Reptiles
In calmer, vegetated areas nearby, frogs, turtles, and other small species live in wetlands and marshy edges, contributing to the lake’s biodiversity and water quality.​
Sharing the Lake - Actions to Take
Living on the water is a privilege — and with it comes responsibility. The wildlife of Lake Union and Portage Bay depends on clean water, healthy shorelines, and respectful human behavior.
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Your actions make a real difference:
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Join the FHA Environmental Committee. Meet new people; help build bird houses; make a difference.
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Avoid feeding water birds, such as bread to ducks and geese, since it will harm their health and alter natural behaviors. Our food is junk food for them. Yet feel free to feed hummingbirds and seed-eating land birds, per local recommendations.
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Reduce pollutants entering the lake — soaps, oils, fuel, and debris all matter. Would you drink it? If not, keep it out of the lake.
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Reduce light pollution around your home and dock at night.
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Support the Floating Homes Association's initiatives for tire-free docks and environmentally safer materials.
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Respect nesting birds and resting animals by keeping distance
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Minimize noise and wake near shoreline habitat when boating
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When we make room for nature, the lake gives back — healthier water, richer wildlife, and a living environment that continues to inspire people to protect it.
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