Before the area became urban, large mammals including bobcats, black bears, foxes, cougars, wolves, and elk thrived in the area. Common species in the 21st century include crow, robin, starling, song sparrow, Bewick's wren, house finch, cedar waxwing, violet-green swallow, belted kingfisher, great blue heron, mallard, wood duck, bushtit, black-capped chickadee, raccoon, opossum, nutria, and moles. Less developed areas support black-tailed deer, coyotes, deer mice, voles, bats, western flycatchers, black-headed grosbeaks, orange-crowned warblers, common mergansers, and woodpeckers. Other wildlife in the watershed include beaver, river otter, freshwater mussels, and bald eagles. Johnson Creek and its watershed are home to life forms that, under Oregon law, have been listed as sensitive species. These are naturally reproducing native animals that may become threatened or endangered throughout all or any significant part of their range in Oregon. Such animals known to live in the Johnson Creek watershed include long-toed, northwestern, and Columbia salamanders, red-legged frogs, painted turtles, great horned owls, toads, hawks, and coyotes. A plant found on Powell Butte, tall bugbane (Actaea elata), is also listed as a sensitive species.