Suggestions for Birding Locations in Northern California (1 Viewer)

Looking for suggestions for birding hotspots along the Northern California coast (above San Francisco) or the Sierras (i.e., lots of trees, Yosemite northward).

Want to plan a romantic vacation that includes a B&B and birding (within driving distance), lots of quiet and nature.

Time of year is unimportant, species density is very important. By that I mean our favorite spots are ones where just a simple walk of even as little as a mile give many opportunities to photograph many different types of animals (birds or mammals). Nothing worse than going to a supposed "hot spot" only to find there isn't anything to photograph. The nature walk is always nice, granted.

Suggestions of place and time of year?

A good thing to do is to check the hotspot map on Ebird:
http://ebird.org/ebird/hotspots
Zoom in to the areas you're interested in and then explore what folks are seeing there.

I've visited Arcata and Crescent City in the summer and thought they were both excellent areas with a wide diversity of species within a short distance. They have nice walks and should provide good opportunities for photography. You can read about my visit there here:
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=207143

Check out Sacremento Wildlife Refuge, we've been there with friends a couple of times. We always had a great time and saw lots of birds.

CalvinFold said:

Looking for suggestions for birding hotspots along the Northern California coast (above San Francisco) or the Sierras (i.e., lots of trees, Yosemite northward).

Want to plan a romantic vacation that includes a B&B and birding (within driving distance), lots of quiet and nature.

Time of year is unimportant, species density is very important. By that I mean our favorite spots are ones where just a simple walk of even as little as a mile give many opportunities to photograph many different types of animals (birds or mammals). Nothing worse than going to a supposed "hot spot" only to find there isn't anything to photograph. The nature walk is always nice, granted.

Suggestions of place and time of year?

Click to expand...

I don't know of B and B's on the California side of the border, but a drive on 5 to route 97 will take you through the Butte Valley area, home of California's (small) national grassland preserve and head you more-or-less toward the Klamath drainage and Tule Lake NWR.

I recommend this area because I see you live in San Leandro. I took a look at the lists for the Ft. Bragg area, and a lot of those are birds I see right now at King Regional Shoreline - not all, of course but the change in habitat in the Klamath/Tule Lake area really changes up who's out there.

Arcata's another great place, and if you're there, find Samoa on a map and do the driving or biking circuit from Arcata to Samoa to Eureka and back to Arcata. Arcata has a lot of good hawking and owling and I know they have B and Bs coming out the wazoo. Ferndale's really nice, about 25 miles south and full of nicely preserved Victorians as well as a great hillside cemetery. Eureka is nice, but has places you don't want to stay as well as places you do. Plus, if you wanted to get away this weekend or President's Day, you could wander Arcata more easily than the Butte Valley area, parts of which will be in heavy snow by now, I'd expect.

If you stay in Ferndale, keep an eye out for the fellow with the flat bottom boat who'll take you on a tour of the marsh for a few hours - and dress for chilly and possibly rainy weather if you go out!