This post will serve as an index to all the birding site guides to San Diego County that I write--past and future!
There are several lists and site guides to the best bird watching locations in San Diego. The most comprehensive is that by Mary Beth Stowe. They are a little dated (last updated about 2008) but still excellent. What I found for me, though, was that the textual directions really needed maps. And with everyone now having GPS to direct them, exact addresses were also needed. Other bird finding site guides to San Diego may list birding hotspots but didn't really explain exactly where to park and if there was a fee to do so.
So my site guides have maps (regional and trail), directions and exact addresses for GPS driving to the parking lot. Fees and access times are listed. Then, for each site, these guides give the best suggestions for how and exactly where to find birds in San Diego.
Here then is the list of my birding site guides (and trip reports) to the San Diego region. New site guide links will be added to the top of the appropriate section as they are written.
San Diego proper--north coastal (La Jolla, Mission Bay, San Diego River mouth)
* Famosa Slough (September 2016) site guide
* A visit to La Jolla Cove (May 2016) scenic trip report
* Point La Jolla Seawatch (December 2014) site guide
* San Diego River Mouth (February 2014) site guide
* Crown Point Park (January 2014) site guide
San Diego proper--south coastal (Point Loma, San Diego Bay, Tijuana River Valley)
* Dairy Mart Ponds (August 2018) site guide
* Tijuana River mouth from Seacoast Drive in Imperial Beach (July 2016) site guide
* All day birding the Tijuana River Valley and Imperial Beach area (April 2016) trip report
* New Birding Trails on Bayshore Bikeway, Imperial Beach (September 2018) site guide
* Bayshore Bikeway, 7th & 13th Street, Imperial Beach (February 2015) site guide
* Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery (September 2014) site guide
* Point Loma and Cabrillo National Monument (September 2014) trip report
* Tijuana River Valley Regional Park: Bird & Butterfly Garden (March 2014) site guide
East County (La Mesa, El Cajon, Santee, Otay, Jamul, Alpine)
* Old Mission Dam and Kumeyaay Lake (September 2015) site guide
Coastal North County
* Buddy Todd Park, Oceanside (October 2018) site guide
* All day birding San Diego's North County (March 2016) trip report
* Guajome Regional Park, Oceanside (March 2015) site guide
* San Elijo Lagoon (April 2014) site guide
* Stonebridge Trail, Solana Beach (September 2019) site guide
* Channel changes at San Luis Rey River mouth (August 2017) habitat update
* San Luis Rey River Mouth, Oceanside (January 2014) site guide
Inland North County
* Lake Wolford, Escondido (February 2019) site guide
* Blue Sky Ecological Reserve, Poway (August 2018) site guide
* Felicita County Park (February 2018) site guide
* Los Jilgueros Preserve, Fallbrook (November 2016) site guide
* Chaparral Trail at Dixon Lake in early February (February 2017) trip report
* Dixon Lake, Escondido (June 2016) site guide
* Highland Valley Road: Coast-to-Crest Trail (June 2016) site guide
* San Dieguito River Park--Coast to Crest Trail (April 2016) site guide
* Kit Carson Park, Escondido (May 2016) site guide
* Black Canyon Bridge (April 2016) mini site guide
* Birds of Black Canyon Road, Ramona (May 2015) site guide
* Lake Hodges--Bernardo Bay area (February 2015) site guide
* Ramona Grasslands Preserve (January 2014) site guide
Mountains
* Agua Dulce Creek, Laguna Mountains (October 2018) site guide
* Stonewall Mine and Lake Cuyamaca (February 2017) site guide
* Some birds of Stonewall Mine (April 2015) trip report
* Finding Gray Vireos on Kitchen Creek Road (June 2015) site guide
* Cuyamaca Peak (May 2016) site guide
* Hiking Palomar Mountain (September 2016) site guide
* Palomar Observatory (April 2015) trip report
* Palomar Mountain State Park (July 2014) trip report
Anza-Borrego Desert
* Blair Valley, Agua Caliente, and Vallecito County Park (June 2019) site guide
* ABDNHA Botanical Garden, Borrego Springs (May 2019) site guide
* Birds of Borrego Springs: March 12, 2017 (March 2017) trip report
* "Super Bloom"--Flowers of Anza-Borrego Desert (March 2017) trip report
* Summer Tanager and Brown-crested Flycatcher at Scissors Crossing (July 2015) site guide/trip report
* Crissal and Le Conte's Thrasher search: Borrego Springs (3 parts; April 2015) trip report
* Mesquite Bosque and Borrego Springs WTP (January 2015) site guide
* Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Visitor Center (May 2014) site guide
Ocean (pelagic trips)
* May 12, 2019 pelagic trip from San Diego (May 2019) trip report
* Last Pelagic Trip of Fall: October 22, 2018 (November 2018) trip report
* Best pelagic ever? (August 2018) trip report
* Spring 2017 San Diego pelagic birding trips (July 2017) trip reports
* Pelagic trip: May 21, 2016 (June 2016) trip report
* Trip report: San Diego pelagic: May 16, 2015 (May 2015) trip report
* Pelagic trip from San Diego: What's it like? (September 2014) trip report
Other (out-of-county)
* South End of Salton Sea--Imperial County (January 2015) trip report
Thank you so much for this Greg. I really appreciate the information you have made easily accessible for fellow birders. The site guides are especially complimentary to recent eBird sightings for trying to maximize a trip.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I'm glad these help.
DeleteHi Greg. I am glad that I stumbled upon your blog. I ton of great information. This Friday I am driving to San Diego for a two week vacation, and hope to visit many of the location you describe. I have only been using eBird for a couple of months and hope to add a few dozes species (if I can identify them). Henry
ReplyDeleteHave fun, Henry!
DeleteThanks for stopping by to say hi!
Hi Greg. With my family, I am planning for an upcoming long weekend birdwatching trip to San Diego. I found this Blogger through a Google search, and it’s so informative! We plan to follow the routes and hotspots you introduced in your posts (with some recent interesting birds in eBird). I noticed that some of the content is from 10 years ago (like San Elijo Lagoon). Are these birdwatching guides still OK today? Thank you so much! We’re looking forward to our birdwatching adventure in San Diego!
ReplyDeleteHaven’t been to San Diego since retired during Covid in 2020.
DeleteSan Elijo has new trails, ponds, bridges I’d love to see.
Not sure about access changes to Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.