Certainly no other state can approach the range of physical environments encountered here, which in large measure explains why California's birdlist is the second longest of any in the United States. Our tour of southern and central California will sample much of this variety beginning on the south coast at Los Angeles and covering the Imperial Valley and Salton Sea, the Colorado and Mohave deserts, the magnificent Owens Valley and the Sierra Nevada Mountains near Yosemite, before returning to the central coast at Monterey and concluding in San Francisco. September is arguably the best time to watch birds in the southern half of California.
Pelagic birds are numerous and everywhere migrants augment the varied array of residents.
Night in Los Angeles. Those used to the urban sprawl of Los Angeles will be pleasantly surprised at the unspoiled and scenic north coast of Los Angeles County and southern Ventura County. Here steep hills drop sharply to the sea forming a ruggedly scenic coastline. We'll explore canyons that hold some of California's distinctive landbirds including California Quail, Allen's Hummingbird, Wrentit, California Thrasher and California Towhee as well as a variety of western migrants. Later we'll continue north to the Oxnard Plain where migrant shorebirds, sometimes including Pacific Golden-Plover and other scarce species, can often be found.