California bird watching

State Checklists:
Thayer Birding Software
California Birds Record Committee
NPWRC Bird Checklists - California

Species Seen in California: 616

State Ornithological Society:
California Birds Record Committee

Rare Bird Alerts:
(323) 874-1318   Los Angeles
(831) 375-2577   Monterey
(805) 528-7182   Morro Bay
(415) 681-7422   Northern California
(707) 822-5666   Northwest
(949) 487-6869   Orange County
(916) 783-2331   Sacramento
(909) 793-5599   Southeastern
(619) 688-2473   San Diego
(805) 964-8240   Santa Barbara
(818) 952-5502   Southern
Transcripts

Electronic mailing Lists:
California – CALBIRD
To subscribe email listserv@pterodroma.kiwi.net with the message: subscribe Calbird.

Maps:
California
California Maps - Geospatial Resources
California Interactive Maps
Maps and Imagery
California National Parks Map
Relief Map with County Lines
California Counties with Bird Links
California Maps 
Map of Counties

Retail Birding Stores
Travel Guide by City

Birding Links for California:
Birding Northern California
Godwit Days—North Coast Spring Bird Migration Festival
Joe Morlan's California Birding Pages Awesome!!
Birding Festivals
Christmas Bird Count Database
Central Coast Birding Trail
Birding Trip Reports
California Birding  by About.com
Birding in California
Birding California
California Pelagic Trips  with Debra Shearwater
Golden Gate Raptor Observatory
Point Reyes Bird Observatory
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory

California Organizations:
Audubon Chapters in California
   Altacal Audubon Society   Chico
   Buena Vista Audubon Society  San Diego County
   Conejo Valley Audubon Society  Camarillo
   Eastern Sierra Audubon Society   Bishop
   El Dorado Audubon Society  Long Beach
   Fresno Audubon Society   Fresno
   Golden Gate Audubon Society  San Francisco/Oakland
   Kern Audubon Society  Bakersfield
   Kerncrest Audubon Society   Inyokern
   La Purisima Audubon Society   Lompoc
   Los Angeles Audubon Society  Los Angeles
   Madrone Audubon Society  Santa Rosa
   Mendocino Coast Audubon Society   Fort Bragg
   Marin Audubon Society   San Rafael
   Monterey Peninsula Audubon Society   Pacific Grove
   Morro Coast Audubon Society  Los Osos
   Ohlone Audubon Society   Hayward
   Palomar Audubon Society   Escondido
   Palos Verdes/South Bay Audubon Society  Manhattan Beach
   Pasadena Audubon Society  San Gabriel
   Peregrine Audubon Society  Ukiah
   Pomona Valley Audubon Society  Claremont
   Redwood Region Audubon Society   Arcata
   Sacramento Audubon Society   Sacramento
   San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society  Wrightwood
   San Diego Audubon Society  San Diego
   San Fernando Valley Audubon Society  Sherman Oaks
   San Joaquin Audubon Society  Stockton
   Santa Barbara Audubon Society   Santa Barbara
   Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society   Cupertino
   Santa Monica Bay Audubon Society   Santa Monica
   Sea & Sage Audubon Society  Irvine
   Sequoia Audubon Society   San Mateo
   Tulare County Audubon Society  Visalia
   Ventura Audubon Society Ventura
   Yolo Audubon Society   Davis
Central Valley Bird Club
The Nature Conservancy of California
Santa Cruz Bird Club
South Bay Birders Unlimited
Western Field Ornithologists

Important Birding Locations in California:
Hot Spots
Birding Hot Spots by County    Unbelievable!! Excellent!
Birding Hotspots on the Northern Coast
Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary
Elkhorn Slough
Top 7 Birding Areas in Marin County
Mono Lake
Monterey County
Birding in Orange County
Klamath River/Scott Valley
Kern River Valley & Southern Sierra Nevada
Where to Watch Birds on California
US Fish & Wildlife Service Refuges - California
Yosemite National Park

Pete Thayer's Favorite Hot Spots:
Arcata Marsh/Humbolt Bay
40.85 N   124.19 W
Wetland birds are abundant from October thorough May. The extensive trails make birding a pleasure here. The Humbolt Bay National Wildlife Refuge has great views of the bay and its birds.

Elkhorn Slough / Moss Landing
36.49 N   121.44 W
One of the top 3 Christmas Bird Count areas each year. Shorebirds galore at the Slough. Check the Moon Glow Dairy Farm for Tri-colored Blackbirds. Eat an artichoke fritter in Castroville.

Joshua Tree / Big Morongo
34.02 N   116.31 W
Combine the Mojave Desert with an oasis here and there and you get BIRDS! Bendire's Thrasher, Ladder-backed Woodpecker and Scott's Oriole can be seen. An excellent spot during migration. Many eastern vagrants accidentally end up here.

Klamath Basin
41.56 N   121.41 W
Six national wildlife refuges in southern Oregon and northern California attract waterfowl and, in the winter, Bald Eagles. The Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge and Lake Tule National Wildlife Refuge are perhaps the best in winter.

Mono Lake
37.95 N  119.18 W
Mono Lake is famed for summer and fall migrants as well as the strange rock deposits left behind by falling water levels. You may be lucky enough to see a California Gull!

Monterey Bay
36.36 N   121.53 W
Pelagic (open ocean) trips run by Shearwater Journeys will be looking for Flesh-footed and Buller's Shearwaters; Ashy and Black Storm-Petrels. The "regular" species are likely to add half a dozen birds to your life list! Whales are always a possibility.

Morro Bay
35.34 N   120.85 W
Peregrines, Merlins, Snowy Plover, Eurasian Wigeon, Brant, and a 200+ species Christmas Count. 122 species seen in one day, without moving! Stop at nearby Montana de Oro State Park for Hutton's Vireo, Chestnut-backed Chickadee and more (best in August through November and in winter, bring your scope and scan the ocean).

Upper Newport Bay
33.38 N   117.53 W
Look for the endangered California Gnatcatcher in the brushy areas surrounding the Slough -- before the developers get them! This is a wonderful spot that needs to be protected!

Point Reyes / Bodega Bay
38.00 N   122.58 W
This is such a great spot they built a Bird Observatory here! This natural migrant trap has good birding all year around. Something really rare seems to turn up every year.

Salton Sea
33.05 N   115.41 W
An absolutely UNBELIEVABLE experience any time of year! This huge oasis in the middle of the desert attracts millions of birds in the winter! The south end is best for birds like Shorebirds, Burrowing Owls and Mountain Plover. Take a friend and Cher the experience as you look for Yellow-footed Gull during the hot, Sonny, smelly summer.

San Diego / Tijuana Slough
32.41 N   117.17 W
An early September pelagic (open ocean) trip may let you see Black and Least Storm-Petrels and Craveri's and Xantus's Murrelets. Clapper Rails are at Tijuana Slough. Point Loma can be a great spot during migration.

San Francisco Bay
37.48 N   122.28 W
Seabirds flying over the water. Rails and other marsh birds at the southern end of the bay. Over 250 species and up to 800,000 waterbirds at one time. San Francisco is an ideal vacation spot for the entire family. It is OK to leave your heart here, but don't leave your binoculars!

Santa Barbara
34.25 N   119.43 W
With over 430 birds recorded here, birders will think they died and went to heaven. The San Ynez mountains and the Pacific Ocean combine for exceptional birding -- especially in winter. Yellow-billed Magpies are common in the foothills near Nojoqui Falls Park.

Yosemite National Park
37.44 N   119.42 W
Tourists come for the scenery. Birders see all that plus some spectacular birds as they move off the beaten path. Look for Great Grey Owls, Northern Pygmy-Owls, Williamson's Sapsucker, American Dipper and Red Crossbills. Black Swifts nest at Bridalveil Falls.