WhenToBird

Birding spot · Orange County, California

Birding at Crystal Cove: What You'll See Each Week

In November, the birds most often reported at Crystal Cove are Black-bellied Plover (81%), Willet (78%), and Brown Pelican (76%). It is busiest in spring, when 66 species turn up on at least 1 in 20 checklists, and species counts peak in the second week of March (82 species). 151 species have been reported here across 1,141 complete checklists from 467 birders.

Species by week

020406080100Jan 1-7: 62 species on 5%+ of 16 checklistsJan 8-14: 57 species on 5%+ of 30 checklistsJan 15-21: 69 species on 5%+ of 36 checklistsJan 22-31: 63 species on 5%+ of 29 checklistsFeb 1-7: 61 species on 5%+ of 33 checklistsFeb 8-14: 61 species on 5%+ of 28 checklistsFeb 15-21: 60 species on 5%+ of 28 checklistsFeb 22-28: 52 species on 5%+ of 23 checklistsMar 1-7: 69 species on 5%+ of 15 checklistsMar 8-14: 82 species on 5%+ of 20 checklistsMar 15-21: 65 species on 5%+ of 41 checklistsMar 22-31: 73 species on 5%+ of 20 checklistsApr 1-7: 76 species on 5%+ of 16 checklistsApr 8-14: 66 species on 5%+ of 24 checklistsApr 15-21: 65 species on 5%+ of 27 checklistsApr 22-30: 64 species on 5%+ of 26 checklistsMay 1-7: 59 species on 5%+ of 11 checklistsMay 8-14: 64 species on 5%+ of 15 checklistsMay 15-21: 57 species on 5%+ of 13 checklistsMay 22-31: 51 species on 5%+ of 21 checklistsJun 1-7: 44 species on 5%+ of 13 checklistsJun 8-14: 60 species on 5%+ of 19 checklistsJun 15-21: 68 species on 5%+ of 15 checklistsJun 22-30: 54 species on 5%+ of 19 checklistsJul 1-7: 51 species on 5%+ of 13 checklistsJul 8-14: 69 species on 5%+ of 20 checklistsJul 15-21: 49 species on 5%+ of 22 checklistsJul 22-31: 48 species on 5%+ of 45 checklistsAug 1-7: 58 species on 5%+ of 15 checklistsAug 8-14: 69 species on 5%+ of 19 checklistsAug 15-21: 74 species on 5%+ of 18 checklistsAug 22-31: 70 species on 5%+ of 20 checklistsSep 1-7: 55 species on 5%+ of 25 checklistsSep 8-14: 60 species on 5%+ of 36 checklistsSep 15-21: 56 species on 5%+ of 28 checklistsSep 22-30: 57 species on 5%+ of 27 checklistsOct 1-7: 67 species on 5%+ of 29 checklistsOct 8-14: 66 species on 5%+ of 17 checklistsOct 15-21: 66 species on 5%+ of 37 checklistsOct 22-31: 53 species on 5%+ of 25 checklistsNov 1-7: 77 species on 5%+ of 20 checklistsNov 8-14: 81 species on 5%+ of 17 checklistsNov 15-21: 75 species on 5%+ of 20 checklistsNov 22-30: 73 species on 5%+ of 31 checklistsDec 1-7: 64 species on 5%+ of 15 checklistsDec 8-14: 56 species on 5%+ of 27 checklistsDec 15-21: 50 species on 5%+ of 23 checklistsDec 22-31: 64 species on 5%+ of 54 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. 1Black-bellied Plover81%
  2. 2Willet78%
  3. 3Brown Pelican76%
  4. 4Sanderling74%
  5. 5Western Gull74%
  6. 6Black Phoebe73%
  7. 7White-crowned Sparrow61%
  8. 8California Towhee59%
  9. 9Hudsonian Whimbrel57%
  10. 10Song Sparrow52%
  11. 11American Crow51%
  12. 12Heermann's Gull51%
  13. 13Say's Phoebe50%
  14. 14Snowy Plover47%
  15. 15Ring-billed Gull44%

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 62 species

  1. Western Gull72%
  2. Brown Pelican71%
  3. Sanderling68%
  4. Black-bellied Plover64%
  5. Black Phoebe63%

Spring 66 species

  1. American Crow70%
  2. Brown Pelican67%
  3. California Towhee67%
  4. Song Sparrow66%
  5. Western Gull65%

Summer 57 species

  1. Western Gull84%
  2. California Towhee81%
  3. Brown Pelican65%
  4. Wrentit64%
  5. American Crow60%

Fall 63 species

  1. Willet78%
  2. Black-bellied Plover77%
  3. Western Gull77%
  4. California Towhee69%
  5. Brown Pelican68%

Specialties

Birds reported far more often here than across California.

  • California Gnatcatcher45% of checklists here vs 0.8% statewide: 59.2×
  • Sanderling49% of checklists here vs 2.0% statewide: 24.2×
  • Black Turnstone36% of checklists here vs 1.8% statewide: 19.6×
  • Snowy Plover19% of checklists here vs 1.1% statewide: 18.0×
  • Black-bellied Plover51% of checklists here vs 3.5% statewide: 14.7×
  • Royal Tern19% of checklists here vs 1.4% statewide: 13.3×
  • Hudsonian Whimbrel49% of checklists here vs 3.8% statewide: 12.9×
  • Heermann's Gull39% of checklists here vs 3.4% statewide: 11.4×

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.