WhenToBird

Birding spot · Imperial County, California

Birding at Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge (southwest): What You'll See Each Week

In November, the birds most often reported at Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge (southwest) are Sandhill Crane (90%), Snow Goose (86%), and Northern Harrier (73%). It is busiest in spring, when 81 species turn up on at least 1 in 20 checklists, and species counts peak in the second week of January (83 species). 154 species have been reported here across 975 complete checklists from 655 birders.

Species by week

020406080100Jan 1-7: 76 species on 5%+ of 43 checklistsJan 8-14: 83 species on 5%+ of 40 checklistsJan 15-21: 65 species on 5%+ of 66 checklistsJan 22-31: 68 species on 5%+ of 67 checklistsFeb 1-7: 71 species on 5%+ of 57 checklistsFeb 8-14: 65 species on 5%+ of 61 checklistsFeb 15-21: 69 species on 5%+ of 64 checklistsFeb 22-28: 75 species on 5%+ of 44 checklistsMar 1-7: 73 species on 5%+ of 37 checklistsMar 8-14: 63 species on 5%+ of 23 checklistsMar 15-21: 75 species on 5%+ of 31 checklistsMar 22-31: 83 species on 5%+ of 38 checklistsApr 1-7: 67 species on 5%+ of 12 checklistsApr 8-14: 82 species on 5%+ of 12 checklistsApr 15-21: 80 species on 5%+ of 11 checklistsApr 22-30: low data (9 checklists)May 1-7: low data (7 checklists)May 8-14: low data (5 checklists)May 15-21: low data (3 checklists)May 22-31: low data (6 checklists)Jun 1-7: low data (2 checklists)Jun 8-14: low data (2 checklists)Jun 15-21: low data (3 checklists)Jun 22-30: low data (1 checklists)Jul 1-7: low data (0 checklists)Jul 8-14: low data (0 checklists)Jul 15-21: low data (4 checklists)Jul 22-31: low data (3 checklists)Aug 1-7: low data (0 checklists)Aug 8-14: low data (1 checklists)Aug 15-21: low data (5 checklists)Aug 22-31: low data (4 checklists)Sep 1-7: low data (3 checklists)Sep 8-14: low data (3 checklists)Sep 15-21: low data (6 checklists)Sep 22-30: 68 species on 5%+ of 16 checklistsOct 1-7: low data (8 checklists)Oct 8-14: low data (9 checklists)Oct 15-21: 67 species on 5%+ of 12 checklistsOct 22-31: 73 species on 5%+ of 26 checklistsNov 1-7: 74 species on 5%+ of 21 checklistsNov 8-14: 75 species on 5%+ of 21 checklistsNov 15-21: 75 species on 5%+ of 33 checklistsNov 22-30: 63 species on 5%+ of 26 checklistsDec 1-7: 67 species on 5%+ of 12 checklistsDec 8-14: 68 species on 5%+ of 29 checklistsDec 15-21: 70 species on 5%+ of 28 checklistsDec 22-31: 73 species on 5%+ of 61 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. 1Sandhill Crane90%
  2. 2Snow Goose86%
  3. 3Northern Harrier73%
  4. 4Great Egret72%
  5. 5Northern Shoveler71%
  6. 6White-faced Ibis70%
  7. 7American Coot67%
  8. 8Western Meadowlark64%
  9. 9Black Phoebe63%
  10. 10American Kestrel58%
  11. 11Black-necked Stilt58%
  12. 12Snowy Egret56%
  13. 13Say's Phoebe55%
  14. 14Great Blue Heron53%
  15. 15Yellow-rumped Warbler52%

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 67 species

  1. Snow Goose83%
  2. Northern Shoveler79%
  3. Sandhill Crane76%
  4. Green-winged Teal69%
  5. American Coot68%

Spring 81 species

  1. Western Meadowlark70%
  2. American Avocet63%
  3. American Coot63%
  4. Northern Shoveler61%
  5. Black-necked Stilt61%

Summer 0 species

    Fall 78 species

    1. Sandhill Crane87%
    2. Great Egret74%
    3. White-faced Ibis69%
    4. Snow Goose65%
    5. Northern Harrier63%

    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.