Local Birding Areas

San Diego has Some of the Top Birding in the US!

Why does San Diego have so many birds?

San Diego County is known as a "biological hotspot" and this is due primarily to a combination of diverse climates, topography, soils, its position on the coast, and being part of a migration  corridor. These factors result in a fantastically diverse biota.  San Diego County has a Mediterranean climate, which is characterized by warm-to-hot and dry summers, and mild-to-cool, wet winters. As far as geography, it's a mix of coastal areas bordered by the Pacific Ocean, foothills, mountains, and desert. This results in many different habitats.  For more information on this, see this article, "San Diego County as Habitat for Birds"

San Diego County has birding for all seasons; for a brief description of what birds you may encounter each month, please see Birding by Season

Birding Hotspots

"Common Goldene   Oceanside  2014 11 23-7.CR2"

North County, with all its lagoons, beaches, and varied coastal and inland habitats, has a lot to offer for birdwatching. Our "Birding Hotspots" brochure describes over a dozen locations for birding in North County

Some of our favorite North County birding locations are described below

BVAS trail2 shapiro

Buena Vista Lagoon

Whelan Lake birding

Whelan Lake

NOTE: Please call the caretaker, Greg Kackstetter, to arrange times to visit Whelan Lake: (760) 722-4887

San Elijo Lagoon photo

San Elijo Lagoon

Agua Hedionda lagoon

Agua Hedionda Lagoon

batiquitos 1

Batiquitos Lagoon

Guajome Park photo

Guajome County Park

To explore other areas besides North County, see San Diego Audubon's Map of birding locations: http://www.sandiegoaudubon.org/birding/cal-birding-sites 

Want to Visit a Site with a Group?

We have lots of birding field trips around San Diego County! Please check out our Bird Walks & Field Trips page and Events Calendar page for more details.

Donations that make a difference!

Your donation will help us further our mission of providing nature-based education to local children, offering birding classes and other programs, protecting and restoring North County wildlife habitats, and more!

Our Mission

Conservation Through Education, Advocacy, Land Management, and Monitoring

Mailing Address

Buena Vista Audubon
PO Box 480
Oceanside, CA 92049

Nature Center

2202 S. Coast Highway
Oceanside, CA 92054

760-439-BIRD
(760-439-2473)

Hours

Sunday CLOSED
Monday CLOSED
Tuesday 10 am-1 pm
Wednesday 10 am-1 pm
Thursday 10 am-1 pm
Friday 10 am-1 pm
Saturday 10 am-1 pm

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