WhenToBird

Birding spot · Orange County, California

Birding at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve (southeast): What You'll See Each Week

In November, the birds most often reported at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve (southeast) are Brown Pelican (87%), Ruddy Duck (86%), and Snowy Egret (85%). It is busiest in winter, when 83 species turn up on at least 1 in 20 checklists, and species counts peak in mid November (92 species). 201 species have been reported here across 5,000 complete checklists from 2,113 birders.

Species by week

020406080100Jan 1-7: 84 species on 5%+ of 187 checklistsJan 8-14: 87 species on 5%+ of 133 checklistsJan 15-21: 81 species on 5%+ of 113 checklistsJan 22-31: 79 species on 5%+ of 143 checklistsFeb 1-7: 86 species on 5%+ of 74 checklistsFeb 8-14: 81 species on 5%+ of 87 checklistsFeb 15-21: 82 species on 5%+ of 91 checklistsFeb 22-28: 81 species on 5%+ of 96 checklistsMar 1-7: 73 species on 5%+ of 82 checklistsMar 8-14: 83 species on 5%+ of 95 checklistsMar 15-21: 78 species on 5%+ of 91 checklistsMar 22-31: 75 species on 5%+ of 107 checklistsApr 1-7: 82 species on 5%+ of 55 checklistsApr 8-14: 72 species on 5%+ of 72 checklistsApr 15-21: 71 species on 5%+ of 69 checklistsApr 22-30: 71 species on 5%+ of 115 checklistsMay 1-7: 69 species on 5%+ of 67 checklistsMay 8-14: 63 species on 5%+ of 87 checklistsMay 15-21: 55 species on 5%+ of 83 checklistsMay 22-31: 60 species on 5%+ of 85 checklistsJun 1-7: 56 species on 5%+ of 68 checklistsJun 8-14: 58 species on 5%+ of 95 checklistsJun 15-21: 62 species on 5%+ of 94 checklistsJun 22-30: 55 species on 5%+ of 157 checklistsJul 1-7: 62 species on 5%+ of 77 checklistsJul 8-14: 59 species on 5%+ of 89 checklistsJul 15-21: 57 species on 5%+ of 104 checklistsJul 22-31: 62 species on 5%+ of 137 checklistsAug 1-7: 58 species on 5%+ of 103 checklistsAug 8-14: 56 species on 5%+ of 120 checklistsAug 15-21: 55 species on 5%+ of 110 checklistsAug 22-31: 59 species on 5%+ of 117 checklistsSep 1-7: 57 species on 5%+ of 103 checklistsSep 8-14: 53 species on 5%+ of 93 checklistsSep 15-21: 69 species on 5%+ of 74 checklistsSep 22-30: 62 species on 5%+ of 81 checklistsOct 1-7: 70 species on 5%+ of 82 checklistsOct 8-14: 74 species on 5%+ of 100 checklistsOct 15-21: 78 species on 5%+ of 97 checklistsOct 22-31: 83 species on 5%+ of 138 checklistsNov 1-7: 90 species on 5%+ of 106 checklistsNov 8-14: 84 species on 5%+ of 118 checklistsNov 15-21: 92 species on 5%+ of 100 checklistsNov 22-30: 89 species on 5%+ of 173 checklistsDec 1-7: 82 species on 5%+ of 85 checklistsDec 8-14: 92 species on 5%+ of 99 checklistsDec 15-21: 82 species on 5%+ of 105 checklistsDec 22-31: 87 species on 5%+ of 243 checklistsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Number of species reported on at least 5% of complete checklists, by week (4 per month). Grey bars: fewer than 10 checklists, not counted.

In November: what to expect

  1. 1Brown Pelican87%
  2. 2Ruddy Duck86%
  3. 3Snowy Egret85%
  4. 4Great Egret84%
  5. 5Double-crested Cormorant84%
  6. 6American Wigeon83%
  7. 7Bufflehead83%
  8. 8Willet82%
  9. 9Pied-billed Grebe80%
  10. 10Great Blue Heron79%
  11. 11Lesser Scaup77%
  12. 12Brant76%
  13. 13American White Pelican70%
  14. 14Western Gull70%
  15. 15American Coot69%

Share of complete checklists at this spot that reported the bird in November. The sparkline is the whole year, with this month highlighted.

Season by season

Winter 83 species

  1. Bufflehead94%
  2. Lesser Scaup89%
  3. Snowy Egret87%
  4. American Wigeon86%
  5. Ruddy Duck85%

Spring 78 species

  1. Snowy Egret90%
  2. Willet78%
  3. Double-crested Cormorant77%
  4. Ruddy Duck74%
  5. Great Egret74%

Summer 57 species

  1. Snowy Egret94%
  2. Great Egret90%
  3. Double-crested Cormorant86%
  4. Willet85%
  5. Great Blue Heron78%

Fall 82 species

  1. Great Egret88%
  2. Brown Pelican88%
  3. Snowy Egret87%
  4. Willet87%
  5. Double-crested Cormorant85%

Specialties

Birds reported far more often here than across California.

  • Reddish Egret46% of checklists here vs 0.5% statewide: 89.0×
  • Ruddy Turnstone24% of checklists here vs 0.4% statewide: 55.9×
  • Brant39% of checklists here vs 0.9% statewide: 43.9×
  • Least Tern24% of checklists here vs 0.6% statewide: 40.0×
  • Red Knot10% of checklists here vs 0.3% statewide: 38.7×
  • Ridgway's Rail19% of checklists here vs 0.6% statewide: 30.2×
  • Short-billed Dowitcher21% of checklists here vs 0.9% statewide: 23.7×
  • Red-breasted Merganser32% of checklists here vs 1.5% statewide: 21.4×

Nearby spots

Frequency is the share of complete checklists at this location that listed the bird, 2016–2025. Busy places report more of everything, and the weekly chart counts species on at least 5% of checklists so a few stray reports do not inflate it. How to read it.