Birding at Cabrillo National Monument

Resources Types of Birds

Cabrillo National Monument (CNM), located at the southern tip of Point Loma in San Diego, provides an opportunity to see a wide diversity of birds in a compact area.

Part of the birding diversity at CNM can be attributed to its strategic location on the Pacific Flyway.

It's not only an important staging area for many neotropical migrants and shorebirds, but also a seasonal home to many migrants, and year-round home to a handful of other birds.

According to the CNM website, "The bird checklist for both the monument and Point Loma peninsula lists 346 species, with over 200 spotted at Cabrillo National Monument alone." On any given day, a hike around the monument might turn up dozens of different species.

The birds shown here can be considered year long residents. With the exception of the Snowy Egret, final picture, all the birds share dull feather and brown eye colors.

The first two birds pictured, top to bottom are native birds, the California Thrasher (Toxostoma redivivum) and California Towhee (Pipilo crissalis).

Both species thrive in a coastal scrub habitat. The towhee's range extends a bit further into the interior valleys of the state and up into southern Oregon. California Thrashers generally are not seen outside of the state.

Other scrub birds such as the Bewick's Wren and Northern Mockingbird, third and fourth pictures, are often seen and relatively easy to photograph.

The monument also offers easy access trails to the surrounding coastal areas.

Tidepooling is a year round activity for both people and birds.

The final picture shows a Snowy Egret, another common monument visitor, foraging for food at low tide.

Shorebird monitoring takes place during the spring and fall, with participants documenting forty three different species.

© 2008. Patricia A. Michaels