WhenToBird

Birding spot · San Diego County, California

Birding at San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve: What You'll See Each Week

In November, the birds most often reported at San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve are Great Egret (82%), Snowy Egret (80%), and Double-crested Cormorant (78%). It is busiest in spring, when 105 species turn up on at least 1 in 20 checklists, and species counts peak in the second week of April (105 species). 224 species have been reported here across 6,462 complete checklists from 2,284 birders.

Species by week

0255075100125Jan 1-7: 93 species on 5%+ of 205 checklistsJan 8-14: 96 species on 5%+ of 182 checklistsJan 15-21: 93 species on 5%+ of 156 checklistsJan 22-31: 94 species on 5%+ of 202 checklistsFeb 1-7: 91 species on 5%+ of 130 checklistsFeb 8-14: 103 species on 5%+ of 180 checklistsFeb 15-21: 97 species on 5%+ of 191 checklistsFeb 22-28: 101 species on 5%+ of 177 checklistsMar 1-7: 94 species on 5%+ of 126 checklistsMar 8-14: 103 species on 5%+ of 136 checklistsMar 15-21: 93 species on 5%+ of 121 checklistsMar 22-31: 99 species on 5%+ of 176 checklistsApr 1-7: 99 species on 5%+ of 108 checklistsApr 8-14: 105 species on 5%+ of 137 checklistsApr 15-21: 100 species on 5%+ of 119 checklistsApr 22-30: 99 species on 5%+ of 157 checklistsMay 1-7: 83 species on 5%+ of 115 checklistsMay 8-14: 92 species on 5%+ of 120 checklistsMay 15-21: 83 species on 5%+ of 91 checklistsMay 22-31: 83 species on 5%+ of 96 checklistsJun 1-7: 69 species on 5%+ of 72 checklistsJun 8-14: 72 species on 5%+ of 111 checklistsJun 15-21: 70 species on 5%+ of 89 checklistsJun 22-30: 73 species on 5%+ of 85 checklistsJul 1-7: 78 species on 5%+ of 76 checklistsJul 8-14: 78 species on 5%+ of 130 checklistsJul 15-21: 70 species on 5%+ of 109 checklistsJul 22-31: 68 species on 5%+ of 138 checklistsAug 1-7: 73 species on 5%+ of 123 checklistsAug 8-14: 78 species on 5%+ of 119 checklistsAug 15-21: 69 species on 5%+ of 125 checklistsAug 22-31: 72 species on 5%+ of 153 checklistsSep 1-7: 78 species on 5%+ of 140 checklistsSep 8-14: 79 species on 5%+ of 131 checklistsSep 15-21: 85 species on 5%+ of 79 checklistsSep 22-30: 81 species on 5%+ of 121 checklistsOct 1-7: 82 species on 5%+ of 104 checklistsOct 8-14: 87 species on 5%+ of 142 checklistsOct 15-21: 85 species on 5%+ of 130 checklistsOct 22-31: 93 species on 5%+ of 139 checklistsNov 1-7: 88 species on 5%+ of 102 checklistsNov 8-14: 96 species on 5%+ of 147 checklistsNov 15-21: 93 species on 5%+ of 111 checklistsNov 22-30: 95 species on 5%+ of 207 checklistsDec 1-7: 100 species on 5%+ of 113 checklistsDec 8-14: 97 species on 5%+ of 126 checklistsDec 15-21: 98 species on 5%+ of 126 checklistsDec 22-31: 95 species on 5%+ of 289 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. 1Great Egret82%
  2. 2Snowy Egret80%
  3. 3Double-crested Cormorant78%
  4. 4Mallard78%
  5. 5Black Phoebe76%
  6. 6Yellow-rumped Warbler73%
  7. 7Great Blue Heron71%
  8. 8Osprey71%
  9. 9House Finch68%
  10. 10White-crowned Sparrow66%
  11. 11Pied-billed Grebe65%
  12. 12Anna's Hummingbird65%
  13. 13Song Sparrow64%
  14. 14Common Yellowthroat63%
  15. 15Belted Kingfisher61%

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 94 species

  1. American Wigeon82%
  2. Mallard81%
  3. Anna's Hummingbird78%
  4. Bufflehead75%
  5. Double-crested Cormorant73%

Spring 105 species

  1. Song Sparrow87%
  2. Mallard83%
  3. Anna's Hummingbird81%
  4. Snowy Egret75%
  5. House Finch74%

Summer 77 species

  1. Snowy Egret88%
  2. Great Egret86%
  3. House Finch80%
  4. Great Blue Heron70%
  5. Song Sparrow69%

Fall 90 species

  1. Snowy Egret85%
  2. Great Egret84%
  3. Mallard75%
  4. Double-crested Cormorant75%
  5. Black Phoebe73%

Specialties

Birds reported far more often here than across California.

  • Ridgway's Rail27% of checklists here vs 0.6% statewide: 44.5×
  • California Gnatcatcher14% of checklists here vs 0.8% statewide: 19.1×
  • Yellow-crowned Night Heron8.9% of checklists here vs 0.5% statewide: 16.2×
  • Least Tern6.4% of checklists here vs 0.6% statewide: 10.6×
  • Semipalmated Plover21% of checklists here vs 2.1% statewide: 10.0×
  • Osprey50% of checklists here vs 5.5% statewide: 9.1×
  • Blue-winged Teal14% of checklists here vs 1.6% statewide: 8.6×
  • Northern Pintail26% of checklists here vs 3.1% statewide: 8.5×

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.