Table Of Content
Attract House Sparrows to your backyard feeders with most kinds of birdseed, including millet, corn, and sunflower seeds. Attract Red-winged blackbirds to your backyard with mixed grain and seeds spread on the ground. Red-winged Blackbirds remain all year in the lower 48 and the Pacific Coast of British Columbia. Those that breed in Canada and some northern US states migrate south for the winter. They appear in 18% of summer checklists and 14% of winter checklists for the state. However, they are spotted more during the breeding season and appear in 16% of summer checklists and 7% of winter checklists.
Free Printable Backyard Birds Worksheets for California
Barn Swallows are mostly spotted in California during the breeding season and occur in 19% of checklists at this time. Ruby-crowned Kinglets breed in Canada and the mountainous west before migrating to southern and southwestern US states and Mexico for the winter. There are so many yellow birds in California that you will spot, especially in spring. Lesser Goldfinches live in the southwestern US states and the West Coast all year, but those that breed in the interior of western US states migrate for winter.
Common Yellowthroat
You can find them near houses and buildings, and they can be pretty tame, and they may even eat out of your hand. Attract Barn Swallows by putting up nest boxes or cups, and they may eat ground-up eggshells on a platform feeder. Nests of Golden-crowned Sparrows are usually on the ground and made from twigs, moss, and leaves. They are lined with softer materials, such as animal hair, grass, and feathers. Golden-crowned Sparrows breed in Alaska and western Canada before migrating to the West Coast for winter. The colors are duller and brown on the crown in winter, and the yellow forehead is also duller.
Birds to Spot if Out Birding in California
Your support will power our science, education, advocacy and on-the-ground conservation efforts. The full experience will begin on November 24th, when the winners will arrive at the LEGO House to be greeted by Jamie who will welcome them to their home for the night. If you go out Birding in California, these are other birds that you may be able to spot. White-breasted Nuthatches live all year in the US and southern Canada.
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How to Attract Birds to Your Yard in California
American Robins live in California all year and appear in 24% of summer checklists and 20% of winter checklists. Spotted Towhees live in western US states, but those in the interior of the north migrate south after breeding to Texas and surrounding areas. Attract Ruby-crowned Kinglets with suet or platform feeders with hulled sunflower seeds, peanut hearts, and mealworms. Ruby-crowned Kinglets are small songbirds that are olive-green, and the males have a brilliant red crown that is usually flat, so hard to see. They are recorded in 30% of summer checklists and 22% of winter checklists for the state.
They are a rich chestnut on their backs and sides and have gray wings and bellies. Say’s Phoebes breed in Alaska, northwestern Canada, and the northern U.S before migrating south to southwestern states and Mexico. Northern Flickers have red or yellow flashes in the wings and tail depending on where they originate. Red-shafted birds live in the west, and yellow-shafted birds live in the east. Northern Flickers are large brown woodpeckers with black spots and a white patch on their rump in flight, plus a red nape of the neck in the males. You can find Golden-crowned Sparrow in weedy fields scratching for seeds such as dock, sumac, and geranium.
Both males and females have long straight bills and coppery-green backs, but the females lack the bright throat coloring. Say’s Phoebes are more common in California during winter, but some stay all year in the south of the state. They appear in 3% of summer checklists and 15% of winter checklists. Barn Swallows are small birds with a deep-blue back, wings and tail, and reddish-brown underneath and across the face. Attract more Northern Mockingbirds to your backyard by planting fruiting trees or bushes, including hawthorns, mulberries, and blackberry brambles. They don’t often visit feeders, but they will come to open lawn areas.
Common Birds In California in Different Seasons
The House Sparrow is another introduced species that has done very well and is now one of the most common birds. Chestnut-backed Chickadees are residents of California all year and are mainly spotted along the coast. They do not migrate and appear in 13% of summer checklists and 11% of winter checklists. They occur in 22% of summer checklists and 19% of winter checklists for the state. Attract Golden-crowned Sparrows to your backyard with seeds on ground feeders or plant native plants that fruit.
Bird Facts for California
Mourning Doves are common over all of the lower 48 all year but may migrate after breeding from the north of the Midwest and southern Canada. Attract Yellow-rumped Warblers to your backyard with sunflower seeds, suet, raisins, and peanut butter. These free bird identification worksheets have all the common backyard birds in California at different times of the year. If you live near the beach, say in Hermosa Beach or Santa Monica, it's unlikely that you'll have much luck with a bird house. The reason is that there likely aren't many cavity nesting birds residing in these seaside areas that are also largely suburban. But if you do get some birds in there, it will likely be House Sparrows, which aren't popular in the birding community, but can nonetheless bring some life to your backyard.
They are more common from September to April, but some hang around all year and appear in 6% of summer checklists. Females may be slightly brown, and winter birds are paler brown with bright yellow rumps and sides turning bright yellow and gray again in spring. American Goldfinches can be spotted in California all year, but their numbers increase during migration in April and November.
Northern Mockingbirds are medium-sized songbirds with small heads and long tails. They are a gray-brown color and slightly paler on the underside than their back, and they have two white wingbars visible in flight. California Scrub-Jays are large songbirds with long tails, whitish undersides and rich blue and gray backs, and a bright blue breast band. They look visually similar to the Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay but with more vivid colors. Attract White-crowned Sparrows to your backyard with sunflower seeds, and they will also eat seeds that other birds drop at feeders. White-crowned Sparrows are frequently spotted in California during winter and appear in 44% of checklists at this time.
Say’s Phoebe’s are flycatchers, and their diet is mostly insects such as beetles, crickets, bees, and flies. They often nest on buildings and can be seen perched on fence posts and around buildings or in their nests under an eave. Say’s Phoebes are slender, long-tailed flycatchers that are brownish-gray above and with a cinnamon belly, gray breast, and blackish tail. Eastern Kingbirds get their name ‘king’ from the aggression they show each other and other birds when defending their nests.
Black Phoebes are small, plump flycatchers that are black on the back, head, and chest and white underneath. There are lots of other red birds in California that you can spot. They can be found in parks, farms, forest edges, and backyard feeders in noisy groups that are hard to miss. White-crowned Sparrows breed in Alaska and arctic Canada before heading south to the lower 48 and Mexico for winter.
Bushtits make amazing hanging nests out of plant material and spider webs that hang down about a foot and may take a month to build. American Robins are residents in the lower 48 and the coast of Western Canada and Alaska. Those that breed in Canada and inland Alaska move south for the winter. Sparrows are known as LBJs (Little brown jobs) but if you want to know more, check out this guide to sparrows in California. California Towhees’ diets are mostly seeds from grasses and herbs, but they also eat berries such as elderberry, coffeeberry, and acorns. Attract American Crows to your backyard by scattering peanuts, but they can become a nuisance as they are attracted by garbage or pet food if left out.
Their diet is insects and spiders, such as caterpillars, beetle, wasps, and ants. They can be found in open, shrubby, and wet areas, often perched on a low shrub singing. American crows are large all-black birds that make a hoarse, cawing sound. They make a dramatic dive display during courtship as the males climb up to 130 feet into the air before diving back to the ground with a burst of noise from their tail feathers.
They are usually seen alone or in pairs and aggressively defend their territory. A male mockingbird can learn around 200 songs in its life, copying other birds’ songs, and they can sing all through the day and into the night. They are considered a pest by some due to their aggressive behavior. These birds fly in large, noisy flocks and can be seen perched in groups on the top of trees or flying over fields. You can find Bushtits in open woodland or scrubby areas, parks, and backyards.
