Backyard Birds of California: a Delightful Guide to Common Species (2024)

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As a California resident, you’re surrounded by a delightful array of backyard birds. Keep an eye out for the Dark-eyed Junco with its distinctive white outer tail feathers, hopping among the leaf litter.

The tiny, bright copper and green Allen’s Hummingbird may dart around your flowerbeds, visiting from January to April.

The common California Towhee, a resident of foothills and lowlands, forages for seeds, insects, and fruits.

In the oak woodlands, listen for the rapid chattering calls of the Oak Titmouse.

The social, migratory Cedar Waxwing is known for its unique wax-tipped wings.

There’s so much more to discover about the backyard birds of California.

Dark-eyed Junco

The Dark-eyed Junco, also known as the snowbird, is the most abundant songbird in North America. This small, grayish sparrow is known for its distinctive white outer tail feathers, which are most noticeable in flight. The species is common across much of temperate North America and is divided into several subspecies, each with distinct physical characteristics.

In California, the most common subspecies is the Oregon Junco, which has blackish-gray heads and breasts with brown backs and wings and reddish flanks. This subspecies is also known as the brown-backed dark-eyed junco and is the most common subspecies group in the West. The Oregon Junco breeds in the Pacific Coast Ranges from southeastern Alaska to extreme northern Baja California and wintering to the Great Plains.

Dark-eyed Juncos are ground-feeders and are often seen picking up seeds from the ground rather than from bird feeders. They’re also known for their flashing white tail feathers when they fly. The species is closely tied to oak woodlands and is an important component of California’s bird community.

If you’re lucky enough to spot a Dark-eyed Junco in your backyard, you’ll likely notice its active, gregarious behavior. These birds are known to form large flocks in the winter, often mixed with American Tree Sparrows. They’re also monogamous and will defend their territories year-round.

Allen’s Hummingbird

Meet Allen’s Hummingbird, a dazzling visitor to the California scene. These tiny aviators, known for their bright copper and green plumage, are a spectacle of nature’s design.

They swoop into coastal California as early as January, their courtship displays a ballet of aerial acrobatics.

Nesting in March and April, they’re drawn to backyard feeders, sipping on sugar water.

Their diet and habitat preferences make them a quintessential part of the backyard birds of California, embodying the freedom and intimacy of nature’s dance.

California Towhee

Discover the California Towhee, a common resident of foothills and lowlands in most of coastal California. These birds are known for their territorial behavior and foraging habits, which involve feeding on seeds, insects, and some fruits. They prefer to forage on open ground adjacent to brushy cover and are particularly abundant in San Diego County, except for the Coronado Peninsula.

California towhees have a wide range of predators, including mammals, reptiles, and other birds. However, California scrub-jays are the main nest predators in California oak-pine woodlands.

Oak Titmouse

The Oak Titmouse is a delightful bird species that’s commonly found in California’s oak woodlands. These birds are known for their rapid chattering calls and their preference for nesting in natural cavities or nest boxes.

The Oak Titmouse is part of the titmouse family, which is the largest group of backyard feeder birds in California. Oak Titmice are known to mate for life and defend their territories year-round.

Oak Titmice have a flexible diet that includes seeds, insects, and invertebrates, and they’re often seen foraging on the ground or in trees.

If you’re interested in attracting Oak Titmice to your backyard, consider putting up a nest box or providing a bird feeder with sunflower seeds or suet.

Cedar Waxwing

Welcome to the delightful world of Cedar Waxwings! These birds are known for their unique wax-tipped wings and their love for fruit. Let’s explore the fascinating details of their behavior, diet, habitat, migration, and conservation.

Cedar Waxwings are migratory birds that travel from their breeding grounds in the northern United States and Canada to their wintering grounds in the southern United States, Mexico, and Central America. Their migration is a staggered affair, with birds stopping at various points to feed on ripe berries and berry trees before continuing their journey.

Cedar Waxwings are omnivorous, but their diet is primarily composed of fruit during the winter months. They’re attracted to fruit-producing plants, including cherries, juniper, dogwood, blackberries, viburnum, and hawthorn. In the warmer months, they switch to a diet of insects, such as cankerworms, caterpillars, beetles, and ants, to feed their young.

These birds are found in open woodlands, forest edges, streamsides, orchards, old fields, farmlands, and residential areas, with berry bushes or fruit trees being a habitat requirement. During the breeding season, they nest in open woodlands or oldfield habitats, preferring areas with numerous small trees and shrubs for nesting and food.

Cedar Waxwings are known for their social behavior, traveling in flocks of 40 or more birds and grooming each other. They’re non-territorial and don’t establish territories, instead moving from patch to patch in search of fruit.

Conservation efforts for Cedar Waxwings focus on protecting their habitat and managing invasive species that may compete with native fruit-producing plants. Planting native viburnums, dogwoods, hawthorns, serviceberries, and Eastern Red Cedars can help support these birds.

California Scrub-Jay

California Scrub-Jays are a medium-sized, crestless bird with long tails and a blue plumage that tends to be duller blue in the Pacific Northwest, becoming darker and more purple in southwestern California. They’re a common year-round resident of the western coastal states, extending from Northern Washington to the tip of Southern Baja California. These birds are known for their aggressive nature, complex vocalizations, and foraging behavior.

1. Aggressive Nature: California Scrub-Jays are known to be aggressive towards smaller birds such as crowned sparrows, which keep a radius of a few yards when a jay is present. They’ll vigorously mob bobcats, house cats, squirrels, owls, and anything else they think is a threat to them.
2. Complex Vocalizations: These birds have varied calls, but a common call heard locally is a weep with an upswing in pitch. They’re also known for their loud, harsh noises when defending their nests.
3. Foraging Behavior: California Scrub-Jays are opportunistic feeders, foraging on the ground, in trees and shrubs, and around human habitation. They feed on small animals, such as frogs and lizards, eggs and young of other birds, insects, and grains, nuts, and berries. They’ll also eat fruit and vegetables growing in backyards.
4. Nest Construction: California Scrub-Jays breed and raise young in pairs, staying with their mate all year and usually keeping the same mate for multiple years. Nests are built low in trees or bushes, 1-10 m (3.3-32.8 ft) above the ground, primarily by the female, while the male guards her efforts.
5. Jays, Woodpeckers, Wrens, and Chickadees: California Scrub-Jays are part of the corvid family, which includes other species like woodpeckers, wrens, and chickadees. They share similar behaviors and intelligence, making them a fascinating group to study.

Cooper’s Hawk

In your backyard, you might spot the elusive Cooper’s Hawk, a master of stealth with its remarkable hunting techniques. Unlike its noisy neighbors, the common raven or the majestic red-tailed hawk, this bird prefers a silent approach, swooping down on unsuspecting prey.

Its nesting habits are a marvel, with a preference for tall trees, ensuring a high vantage point.

Despite facing threats like habitat loss, their population trends remain stable, thanks to ongoing conservation efforts.

This bird’s presence is a testimony to nature’s resilience and beauty.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Welcome to the delightful world of backyard birds in California! Today, we’re going to explore the fascinating Yellow-rumped Warbler, a colorful and adaptable species that graces our winter landscapes.

Yellow-rumped Warblers are a common sight during the winter months, particularly in conifer forests and mixed woodlands. They’re known for their distinctive yellow rump, which is visible in both the breeding and non-breeding plumage. These birds are social and often found in flocks, especially during migration and in winter.

During the breeding season, Yellow-rumped Warblers prefer coniferous habitats, where they build their nests in the outer branches of trees. Females are responsible for constructing the nest, which is a cup of twigs, pine needles, grasses, and rootlets, sometimes with fine hair and feathers lining.

The Yellow-rumped Warbler’s diet is varied, consisting primarily of insects during the breeding season. However, during winter and migration, they turn to fruit, particularly bayberry and wax myrtle, which allows them to survive in colder climates. They’re also known to consume spruce budworm, a serious forest pest, during outbreaks.

These birds are active and agile, often seen sallying out to catch insects in the outer tree canopies. They’re also known to forage on the ground, where they can be seen picking insects from washed-up seaweed at the beach or skimming insects from the surface of rivers and the ocean.

Yellow-rumped Warblers are a valuable addition to any backyard birdwatching experience. Their vibrant plumage and adaptable diet make them a delight to observe, especially during the winter months when other warblers have migrated south.

As we continue our journey through the diverse world of California’s backyard birds, we’ll explore the fascinating Chestnut-backed Chickadee in our next subtopic. Stay tuned for more insights into the avian wonders that call California home!

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

The Chestnut-backed Chickadee is a delightful addition to the backyard bird scene in California. This small bird is often found in oak woodlands and is known for its distinctive black cap and chestnut-brown back, sides, and rump. These birds aren’t migratory and are active year-round, making them a common sight in backyards.

Chestnut-backed Chickadees are known for their nesting habits. Female adults build nests alone, and the process usually lasts 7 or 8 days. The nests are made of various materials, including moss, cedar bark, and animal fur, which is woven into strips of wood for camouflage. These birds are known to use nest boxes, making them a popular choice for bird conservation efforts.

These birds have a varied diet, feeding on arthropods, conifer seeds, berries, and other small fruit. They forage by hopping between twigs, branches, and other small perches, often hanging upside down from perches to reach the underside of branches. Chestnut-backed Chickadees are also known to store food for later use and aren’t afraid of man-made bird feeders.

To attract Chestnut-backed Chickadees to your backyard, consider setting up a nest box in a suitable location, such as near oak woodlands or other suitable habitat. Offering a variety of seeds, fruits, and insects in a bird feeder can also help attract these birds to your yard.

Red-shouldered Hawk

The Red-shouldered Hawk is a medium-sized bird of prey that’s often found in deciduous and mixed woodlands, particularly near water sources. It’s known for its reddish or rufous underbellies and its visually striking tail, which has white and black bands or stripes. The bird gets its name from the rusty red plumage on its upper wing, the so-called shoulder. Males and females look nearly identical, with females generally being larger than males. The Red-shouldered Hawk has an average wingspan of 37 to 42 inches.

Conservation Status

The Red-shouldered Hawk is protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. It’s important to maintain a tree canopy closure in the territory of greater than 70% and an uncut buffer of 100m around active nests. Single tree selection appears to have less impact on nesting than other harvest methods. Large areas of contiguous forest are beneficial for this species, and preservation, maintenance, or even construction of appropriate water bodies may be useful for conservation and management.

Habitat Preference

Red-shouldered Hawks prefer extensive, mature forests, with a preference for bottomland hardwood forests, riparian areas, and flooded forests. They’re often found near water sources, such as river banks, lakes, and swamps. In California, they’re found in deciduous and mixed woodlands, but not necessarily deep forest.

Hunting Techniques

Red-shouldered Hawks are carnivores that wait and watch from perches before swooping in to strike at the right opportunity. They hunt water-loving animals like frogs, crayfish, and small fish, as well as small woodland animals like snakes, mice, voles, and rabbits. They’re opportunistic feeders and have even been known to feed on carrion if other options aren’t available.

Identifying Features

To identify a Red-shouldered Hawk, look for its reddish or rufous underbellies and the visually striking tail with white and black bands or stripes. The bird’s name comes from the rusty red plumage on its upper wing. Males and females look nearly identical, but females tend to be larger than males. The Red-shouldered Hawk has an average wingspan of 37 to 42 inches.

Misidentification

Red-shouldered Hawks are often confused with other hawk species, such as the more common Red-tailed Hawk and the broad-winged Hawk. To distinguish between these species, consider the bird’s underbelly color and the appearance of its tail. The Red-shouldered Hawk has a reddish or rufous underbelly and a tail with white and black bands or stripes, while the Red-tailed Hawk has a white underbelly and a brick red tail, and the broad-winged Hawk has a brown underbelly and a black tail with white bands.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)