Birding spots · California

Best Birding Spots in Monterey County, California

Crespi Pond (Point Pinos) leads Monterey County's birding spots with 245 species reported, best in fall. 188 spots in the county have enough data to rank.

Species counts are birds reported at least three times in that season at that spot, 2016–2025. Busy spots list more species simply because more people look, so compare the checklist counts. Spot names come from public map data and hotspot listings.

Spot	Species	Checklists	Winter	Spring	Summer	Fall
Crespi Pond (Point Pinos)	245	4,174	152	163	119	220
Elkhorn Slough Ecological Reserve (west)	230	2,097	162	164	139	211
Laguna Grande Regional Park	226	4,654	138	146	114	198
Crespi Pond	217	7,637	151	133	104	193
Carmel River State Beach	217	2,471	148	151	126	185
Carmel River State Beach (Hatton Canyon)	212	1,994	126	141	109	181
Molera Point	208	751	122	146	135	175
Salinas River National Wildlife Refuge	207	1,209	134	140	135	168
Elkhorn Slough Ecological Reserve	206	2,106	159	170	136	161
Moss Landing State Beach	197	5,886	150	143	132	172
McClusky Slough	196	1,437	142	158	145	152
Kirby Park	183	1,159	146	138	110	142
Point Lobos State Natural Reserve	178	2,668	113	132	111	134
El Estero Park	175	1,948	109	105	68	157
Martin Canyon	170	2,566	107	142	109	130
El Carmelo Cemetery	169	2,176	66	96	78	147
Locke Paddon Park	160	899	92	106	73	130
Asilomar State Beach	158	1,870	113	101	78	108
North Moss Beach	155	1,248	83	92	83	118
Moss Landing Wildlife Area	149	1,111	102	104	100	100
Island Beach	149	757	111	103	80	114
Elkhorn Slough Ecological Reserve (Parsons Slough)	148	177	103	99	70	105
Bird Rock	140	950	100	84	59	82
Elkhorn Slough / Elkhorn Highlands	140	368	117	94	53	55
Frog Pond Wetland Preserve	138	1,111	75	98	77	100
Moss Beach	132	470	80	84	81	82
Malpaso Creek	129	365	76	76	66	102
Salinas River State Beach	127	373	81	82	66	92
Carmel River State Beach (Monastery Beach)	124	327	76	74	56	95
Zmudowski State Beach	124	234	71	69	81	83
El Estero	123	1,784	86	79	58	85
Del Monte Lake	122	828	89	82	71	88
Fort Ord Public Lands Area of Critical Environmental Concern (Creekside)	120	393	79	101	70	69
Andrew Molera State Park	120	388	70	76	67	94
Marine Gardens Park	118	1,223	74	75	57	88
Laguna Seca Recreation Area & Campgrounds	118	265	73	93	65	51
Fort Ord Public Lands Area of Critical Environmental Concern	117	633	73	105	77	70
El Toro Lake	117	244	89	83	65	77
Monterey State Beach	116	488	92	71	44	70
Palo Corona Regional Park	115	392	76	88	76	76
Asilomar State Beach (North Moss Beach)	114	973	77	81	61	78
Elkhorn Slough Ecological Reserve (Strawberry Canyon)	111	234	75	66	32	51
Lagunita Mirada	108	785	70	66	49	84
Moro Cojo Ecological Reserve	108	332	93	80	29	57
Stillwater Cove	105	391	81	53	50	60
Roberts Lake Open Space	103	538	66	57	44	80
Hatton Canyon	102	531	67	81	59	78
Spanish Bay (North Moss Beach)	101	369	45	59	48	76
Fort Ord Public Lands Area of Critical Environmental Concern (north)	101	333	58	88	68	46
Toro Regional Park	101	309	56	83	62	56