WhenToBird

Birding spot · Santa Cruz County, California

Birding at College Lake: What You'll See Each Week

In November, the birds most often reported at College Lake are American Coot (92%), Black Phoebe (88%), and Red-tailed Hawk (83%). It is busiest in spring, when 114 species turn up on at least 1 in 20 checklists, and species counts peak in the second week of April (124 species). 188 species have been reported here across 1,099 complete checklists from 236 birders.

Species by week

0255075100125Jan 1-7: 82 species on 5%+ of 62 checklistsJan 8-14: 89 species on 5%+ of 56 checklistsJan 15-21: 88 species on 5%+ of 97 checklistsJan 22-31: 97 species on 5%+ of 77 checklistsFeb 1-7: 87 species on 5%+ of 33 checklistsFeb 8-14: 97 species on 5%+ of 36 checklistsFeb 15-21: 94 species on 5%+ of 26 checklistsFeb 22-28: 104 species on 5%+ of 31 checklistsMar 1-7: 94 species on 5%+ of 22 checklistsMar 8-14: 94 species on 5%+ of 17 checklistsMar 15-21: 96 species on 5%+ of 26 checklistsMar 22-31: 91 species on 5%+ of 24 checklistsApr 1-7: 118 species on 5%+ of 14 checklistsApr 8-14: 124 species on 5%+ of 17 checklistsApr 15-21: 101 species on 5%+ of 26 checklistsApr 22-30: 122 species on 5%+ of 39 checklistsMay 1-7: 94 species on 5%+ of 43 checklistsMay 8-14: 84 species on 5%+ of 26 checklistsMay 15-21: 104 species on 5%+ of 19 checklistsMay 22-31: 96 species on 5%+ of 31 checklistsJun 1-7: 75 species on 5%+ of 21 checklistsJun 8-14: 84 species on 5%+ of 17 checklistsJun 15-21: 73 species on 5%+ of 10 checklistsJun 22-30: 83 species on 5%+ of 12 checklistsJul 1-7: low data (2 checklists)Jul 8-14: low data (4 checklists)Jul 15-21: low data (6 checklists)Jul 22-31: 77 species on 5%+ of 11 checklistsAug 1-7: low data (8 checklists)Aug 8-14: 85 species on 5%+ of 10 checklistsAug 15-21: 73 species on 5%+ of 10 checklistsAug 22-31: 91 species on 5%+ of 12 checklistsSep 1-7: 96 species on 5%+ of 19 checklistsSep 8-14: low data (8 checklists)Sep 15-21: low data (6 checklists)Sep 22-30: low data (7 checklists)Oct 1-7: low data (7 checklists)Oct 8-14: low data (8 checklists)Oct 15-21: 93 species on 5%+ of 23 checklistsOct 22-31: 116 species on 5%+ of 16 checklistsNov 1-7: low data (8 checklists)Nov 8-14: 110 species on 5%+ of 14 checklistsNov 15-21: 97 species on 5%+ of 13 checklistsNov 22-30: 83 species on 5%+ of 24 checklistsDec 1-7: 91 species on 5%+ of 37 checklistsDec 8-14: 88 species on 5%+ of 23 checklistsDec 15-21: 102 species on 5%+ of 18 checklistsDec 22-31: 79 species on 5%+ of 23 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. 1American Coot92%
  2. 2Black Phoebe88%
  3. 3Red-tailed Hawk83%
  4. 4Great Egret81%
  5. 5Yellow-rumped Warbler80%
  6. 6Song Sparrow76%
  7. 7Ruby-crowned Kinglet73%
  8. 8Anna's Hummingbird71%
  9. 9Canada Goose71%
  10. 10Great Blue Heron68%
  11. 11Mallard66%
  12. 12American Crow64%
  13. 13House Finch63%
  14. 14Northern Shoveler63%
  15. 15Belted Kingfisher59%

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 93 species

  1. American Coot88%
  2. Northern Shoveler83%
  3. Ruddy Duck77%
  4. Canada Goose74%
  5. American Wigeon73%

Spring 114 species

  1. Mallard91%
  2. Canada Goose85%
  3. Great Egret82%
  4. American Coot80%
  5. Osprey80%

Summer 88 species

  1. Great Egret88%
  2. Mallard85%
  3. Great Blue Heron82%
  4. Double-crested Cormorant80%
  5. Black Phoebe79%

Fall 104 species

  1. Black Phoebe91%
  2. American Coot87%
  3. Great Egret83%
  4. Red-tailed Hawk78%
  5. Song Sparrow78%

Specialties

Birds reported far more often here than across California.

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.