Do you know where you can find over 100 native animal species in downtown Redwood City?

Believe it or not, the answer is right along Veterans Boulevard and Main Street near Kaiser Hospital. Before 2018, you might not even have noticed a creek flowed behind the dense stands of palm trees that lined the water’s edge. Thanks to a grant from the Coastal Conservancy and hundreds of volunteer hours, this stretch of creek has been transformed into a haven of thousands of plants native to the Redwood Creek watershed.

With all of this change to the plant life, we set out to investigate if local wildlife had found our newly restored patch of habitat. The palm trees that once covered the stream banks had supported very few animal species, so we were hopeful that our native plantings would attract more pollinators, birds, and other animals back to the creek.

To find out for sure, we counted every animal we could see once a month, always in the early morning. We observed around 120 animal species including 20 species of birds, several salamanders and the local harbor seal, fondly nicknamed Sammy. Most inspiring was the presence of over 70 species of insects including native bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects. This is great news for the creek and surrounding area in a time when native pollinators are on the decline, especially in urban settings.

We now had a better picture of what terrestrial animals were using the restored site, and thanks to one of our dedicated interns, Cheyenne, we’d learn about some aquatic animals as well.

Cheyenne grew up fishing and camping along the coast of California, and her nature-filled childhood inspired a curiosity for how living systems work. During her time as an intern with us last year, she became curious as to what exactly was living in the waters of Redwood Creek. Her weekly surveys beginning in February 2021 are the first time that data on life in this stretch of the creek has been collected.

Cheyenne’s research began in an effort to record and track dungeness and rock crab population in Redwood Creek since there was an unusually low amount of these native crabs in the ocean in the 2020/2021 season. While she didn’t observe either of these species, she began to observe native yellow shore crabs this summer. Her hypothesis for their seasonal presence is that the creek becomes saltier in summer due to less rainwater coming down the creek and saltwater from the bay flowing upstream with the tides. This increased tidal influence allows for primarily saltwater species like crabs and some species of fish to make it farther up the creek and temporarily call it home.

Since February, Cheyenne has observed a diversity of other organisms as well including shrimps, snails, and fish. She even has a website where she posts all of her findings: RedwoodCreekFinds.

Cheyenne hopes her surveys will increase awareness about the abundance of aquatic life in Redwood Creek. To the untrained eye, the murky water can look stagnant and seemingly unable to support much life. Now, there is evidence to the contrary. Posted along the bridges on Veterans and Main, you can find QR codes that link to Cheyenne’s website, which shows just how much life depends on the urban waterway.

The next time you pass Redwood Creek or your local neighborhood stream, take a moment to observe and ponder the diversity of life—both above and in the water—that relies on even a seemingly small stretch of creek.

From the Field

Hidden Wildlife is Making a Comeback in Redwood City