WhenToBird

Birding spot · San Diego County, California

Birding at San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge: What You'll See Each Week

In November, the birds most often reported at San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge are Royal Tern (86%), Willet (83%), and Western Gull (79%). It is busiest in winter, when 85 species turn up on at least 1 in 20 checklists, and species counts peak in early November (91 species). 173 species have been reported here across 1,550 complete checklists from 907 birders.

Species by week

020406080100Jan 1-7: 76 species on 5%+ of 43 checklistsJan 8-14: 75 species on 5%+ of 30 checklistsJan 15-21: 81 species on 5%+ of 42 checklistsJan 22-31: 80 species on 5%+ of 53 checklistsFeb 1-7: 65 species on 5%+ of 27 checklistsFeb 8-14: 78 species on 5%+ of 35 checklistsFeb 15-21: 74 species on 5%+ of 50 checklistsFeb 22-28: 76 species on 5%+ of 61 checklistsMar 1-7: 72 species on 5%+ of 41 checklistsMar 8-14: 70 species on 5%+ of 23 checklistsMar 15-21: 75 species on 5%+ of 29 checklistsMar 22-31: 74 species on 5%+ of 39 checklistsApr 1-7: 82 species on 5%+ of 38 checklistsApr 8-14: 74 species on 5%+ of 31 checklistsApr 15-21: 73 species on 5%+ of 32 checklistsApr 22-30: 73 species on 5%+ of 84 checklistsMay 1-7: 56 species on 5%+ of 27 checklistsMay 8-14: 61 species on 5%+ of 10 checklistsMay 15-21: 63 species on 5%+ of 12 checklistsMay 22-31: low data (9 checklists)Jun 1-7: low data (7 checklists)Jun 8-14: 54 species on 5%+ of 10 checklistsJun 15-21: low data (4 checklists)Jun 22-30: low data (5 checklists)Jul 1-7: low data (7 checklists)Jul 8-14: 63 species on 5%+ of 39 checklistsJul 15-21: 66 species on 5%+ of 20 checklistsJul 22-31: 43 species on 5%+ of 22 checklistsAug 1-7: 48 species on 5%+ of 13 checklistsAug 8-14: 52 species on 5%+ of 22 checklistsAug 15-21: 47 species on 5%+ of 21 checklistsAug 22-31: 47 species on 5%+ of 27 checklistsSep 1-7: 65 species on 5%+ of 18 checklistsSep 8-14: 64 species on 5%+ of 42 checklistsSep 15-21: 61 species on 5%+ of 24 checklistsSep 22-30: 72 species on 5%+ of 34 checklistsOct 1-7: 63 species on 5%+ of 25 checklistsOct 8-14: 69 species on 5%+ of 39 checklistsOct 15-21: 73 species on 5%+ of 25 checklistsOct 22-31: 75 species on 5%+ of 46 checklistsNov 1-7: 91 species on 5%+ of 18 checklistsNov 8-14: 84 species on 5%+ of 37 checklistsNov 15-21: 78 species on 5%+ of 85 checklistsNov 22-30: 83 species on 5%+ of 65 checklistsDec 1-7: 90 species on 5%+ of 35 checklistsDec 8-14: 76 species on 5%+ of 43 checklistsDec 15-21: 82 species on 5%+ of 44 checklistsDec 22-31: 87 species on 5%+ of 57 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. 1Royal Tern86%
  2. 2Willet83%
  3. 3Western Gull79%
  4. 4Western Sandpiper70%
  5. 5Black-bellied Plover70%
  6. 6Black-necked Stilt69%
  7. 7Ring-billed Gull67%
  8. 8Marbled Godwit63%
  9. 9White-crowned Sparrow62%
  10. 10Snowy Egret60%
  11. 11American Crow59%
  12. 12Forster's Tern58%
  13. 13American Wigeon58%
  14. 14Greater Yellowlegs54%
  15. 15Great Egret53%

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 85 species

  1. Royal Tern87%
  2. Western Gull84%
  3. Willet82%
  4. American Wigeon76%
  5. Ring-billed Gull76%

Spring 82 species

  1. Black-necked Stilt83%
  2. Willet76%
  3. Forster's Tern67%
  4. American Avocet65%
  5. Elegant Tern63%

Summer 55 species

  1. Snowy Egret68%
  2. Willet66%
  3. Cliff Swallow65%
  4. Black Skimmer60%
  5. Elegant Tern60%

Fall 78 species

  1. Willet83%
  2. Western Gull72%
  3. Black-bellied Plover72%
  4. Western Sandpiper69%
  5. Royal Tern68%

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.