Birding California's Redwood Coast

California's far north coast mixes redwood forest, oak prairie, rivers, lagoons, beaches and sea cliffs. Redwood National and State Parks alone report about 280 bird species recorded within their boundaries, which the National Park Service describes as nearly one-third of all bird species in the United States. North of the parks, Del Norte County has a county list of 427 species, according to Joseph Morlan's county birding pages. South of them, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says more than half of the Pacific Black Brant population refuels on Humboldt Bay's eelgrass, and over half a million shorebirds use the bay in spring migration.

The original Redwood Coast birding trail

A birding trail once guided visitors through this region. In a 2013 Audubon magazine feature on fall birding trails, Kenn Kaufman described the Redwood Coast trail as covering "43 choice destinations in beautiful Del Norte County." Audubon's 2016 California birding roundup mentioned it again. Birds the magazine named for the trail ranged from seabirds such as Rhinoceros Auklet and Marbled Murrelet, to shorebirds such as Whimbrel and Willet, to forest birds including Pileated Woodpecker, Gray Jay, Spotted Owl, White-headed Woodpecker, Cassin's Finch and Mountain Chickadee.

This website is not that trail and is not connected to it. It is an independent guide that collects published information from the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other sources, with links to each one.

Where to start

• Birding sites

  Lake Earl, Tolowa Dunes, Castle Rock, the Smith River and the redwood parks, with what to look for at each.

• Region map

  A north-to-south overview of the coast from the Oregon border to Arcata.

• Notable species checklist

  Signature birds of the Redwood Coast, by habitat and season.

• Marbled Murrelet

  The seabird that nests in old-growth redwoods, and how to look for it responsibly.

• Humboldt Bay & Arcata Marsh

  Brant, half a million spring shorebirds and a celebrated wetland sanctuary.

Highlights of the region

Castle Rock and the Aleutian geese

About half a mile off Crescent City, Castle Rock National Wildlife Refuge is a 14-acre island closed to the public. Its Wikipedia entry says more than 21,000 Aleutian cackling geese roost there, and that the rock has the largest breeding population of Common Murres on the Pacific Coast, with estimates as high as 100,000 murres. When the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed the Aleutian Canada goose from the endangered species list in 2001, it noted that the spring count near Crescent City had been only 790 birds in 1975. The subspecies had since recovered to about 37,000.

Seabirds in the redwoods

The Marbled Murrelet feeds at sea but nests on the limbs of old-growth conifers, up to 30 miles inland. The National Park Service says Redwood National and State Parks support most of California's remaining breeding population. Read our murrelet page for viewing times and for why the parks work to keep campground food away from jays.

Lagoons, estuaries and beaches

Lake Earl, described in its Wikipedia entry as the largest coastal lagoon in California, lies about 11 miles south of the Oregon border. Within the national and state parks, the NPS points birders to the mouths of Redwood Creek and the Klamath River, freshwater ponds such as Lagoon Creek Pond and Marshall Pond, and sandy beaches where Whimbrel, Sanderling and Western Sandpiper occur in migration and winter.

Using this guide

Every page lists its sources. Access rules, closures and road conditions change, so check with the park, refuge or wildlife area before you go. For seasonal patterns at a particular site, eBird bar charts and the parks' own bird checklist are the best up-to-date references.