Raptors
Accipiters
- Cooper's Hawk
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
Buteos
- Ferruginous Hawk
- Red-shouldered Hawk
California subspecies
Buteo lineatus elegans
South Florida subspecies
Buteo lineatus extimus
Southeast subspecies
Buteo lineatus alleni - Red-tailed Hawk
Eastern subspecies
Buteo jamaicensis borealis
Western subspecies
Buteo jamaicensis calurus
Harlan's Hawk
Buteo jamaicensis harlani
Nestling - Swainson's Hawk
Eagles & Osprey
- Bald Eagle
The National Bird of the United State. To see a video of a fledgling I have on YouTube, click here. - Golden Eagle
- Osprey
Falcons & Harrier
Kites
Owls
Subtropical Hawks
- Crested Caracara
The National Bird of Mexico.
Vultures
Egrets & Herons
- Black-crowned Night-heron
- Cattle Egret
- Great Blue Heron
- Great Egret
- Green Heron
- Little Blue Heron
- Reddish Egret
- Snowy Egret
- Tricolored Heron
- Yellow-crowned Night-heron
Bitterns, Cranes, Ibis, Limpkin, Spoonbill & Storks
- American Bittern
- Least Bittern
- Limpkin
- Roseate Spoonbill
- Sandhill Crane
- White-faced Ibis
- White Ibis
- Wood Stork
Multiple Species
of Long-legged Wading Birds together.
Warblers
- Black-and-White Warbler
- Black-throated Gray Warbler
- Blackburnian Warbler
- Common Yellowthroat
- Hermit Warbler
- Nashville Warbler
- Orange-crowned Warbler
- Painted Redstart
- Palm Warbler
- Townsend's Warbler
- Wilson's Warbler
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
Audubon's Warbler - west coast form
Myrtle Warbler - east coast form - Yellow-throated Warbler
- Yellow Warbler
Flycatchers, Swallows & Swifts
- Ash-throated Flycatcher
- Black Phoebe
- Cassin's Kingbird
- Cliff Swallow
- Eastern Phoebe
- Loggerhead Shrike
- Northern Rough-winged Swallow
- Purple Martin
- Say's Phoebe
- Tree Swallow
- Vermilion Flycatcher
- Western Flycatcher
These birds are either Pacific-slope or Cordilleran Flycatchers. They look identical and normally have different ranges, though it is normally best to refer to them generically. - Western Kingbird
- Western Wood-Pewee
- Willow Flycatcher
Doves, Pigeons & Quail
State Birds that I've yet to photograph
Alaska - Willow Ptarmigan
Colorado - Lark Bunting
Delaware - Blue Hen Chicken
Hawaii - Nene
Idaho - Mountain Bluebird
Maine - Black-capped Chickadee
Maryland -Baltimore Oriole
Massachusetts - Black-capped Chickadee
Nevada - Mountain Bluebird
Oklahoma - Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Pennsylvania - Ruffed Grouse
Rhode Island - Rhode Island Red
South Dakota - Ring-necked Pheasant
Shore Birds
- American Avocet
- Bar-tailed Godwit
- Black-bellied Plover
- Black-necked Stilt
- Black Oystercatcher
- Black x American Oystercatcher hybrid
- Black Turnstone
- Buff-breasted Sandpiper
- Greater Yellowlegs
- Killdeer
- Least Sandpiper
- Long-billed Curlew
- Long-billed Dowitcher
- Marbled Godwit
- Pacific Golden-Plover
- Red-necked Phalarope
- Ruddy Turnstone
- Sanderling
- Semipalmated Plover
- Short-billed Dowitcher
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Western Sandpiper
- Whimbrel
- Willet
- Multiple Species
of Oystercatcher together
Hummingbirds
- Anna's
- Anna's (Partial Albino-Leucistic)
- Costa's
- Selasphorus
Allen's and Rufous Hummingbirds are almost impossible to tell apart from each other. Instead of being misleading, I choose to lump them together under part of their scientific classification. - Unsure
Female hummingbirds can be very difficult to tell apart from each other. If you can identify any of these please send me an email.
Flickers, Sapsuckers & Woodpeckers
- Acorn Woodpecker
- Downy Woodpecker
- Gila Woodpecker
- Ladder-backed Woodpecker
- Lewis's Woodpecker
- Northern Flicker
The state bird of Alabama - Nuttall's Woodpecker
- Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Red-headed Woodpecker
- Williamson's Sapsucker
Songbirds
- American Pipit
- American Robin
The state bird of Connecticut, Michigan, and Wisconsin. - Bewick's Wren
- Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
- Black-throated Magpie
- Blue Jay
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Brown Thrasher
The state bird of Georgia. - Brown-headed Nuthatch
- Bushtit
- Cactus Wren
The state bird of Arizona. - California Thrasher
- Carolina Wren
The state bird of South Carolina. - Cedar Waxwing
- Curve-billed Thrasher
- Eastern Bluebird
The state bird of Missouri, and New York. - Florida Scrub Jay
- Gray Catbird
- Hermit Thrush
The state bird of Vermont - House Wren
- Hutton's Vireo
- Least Bell's Vireo
- LeConte's Thrasher
- March Wren
- Mountain Chickadee
- Northern Mockingbird
The state bird of Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas. - Oak Titmouse
- Phainopepla
- Pygmy Nuthatch
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Stellar's Jay
- Swainson's Thrush
- Tufted Titmouse
- Verdin
- Warbling Vireo
- Western Bluebird
- Western Scrub Jay
- White-breasted Nuthatch
- Wrentit
- Yellow-billed Magpie
Blackbirds, Meadowlarks, Orioles & Tanagers
- Brewer's Blackbird
- Bullock's Oriole
- European Starling
- Hooded Oriole
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Summer Tanager
- Tricolored Blackbird
- Western Meadowlark
The state bird of Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon and Wyoming. - Western Tanager
- Yellow-headed Blackbird
Misc. Birds
- Belted Kingfisher
- Boat-tailed Grackle
- Common Myna
- Common Raven
- Great-tailed Grackle
- Greater Roadrunner
The state bird of New Mexico. - Mitred Parakeet
- Moa
- Wild Turkey
Visit some of my favorite San Diego area birding links.
See a gallery of assorted birds in flight.
Raptor Week '07
From Christmas weekend through New Year's weekend I was off chasing raptors around San Diego County. I was able to find and photograph ten species. See photos.
Ducks, Geese & Swans
- American Wigeon
- Blue-phase Snow Goose
- Brandt
- Brown Chinese Goose (domestic version living wild)
- Bufflehead
- Canada Goose
- Cinnamon Teal
- Common Goldeneye
- Green-winged Teal
- Greylag Goose (domestic version living wild)
- Hooded Merganser
- Lesser Scaup
- Mallard
- Mallard (domestic version living wild)
- Mottled Duck
- Muscovy (feral, most likely a hybrid with a Mallard)
- Northern Pintail
- Northern Shoveler
- Red-breasted Merganser
- Redhead
- Ring-necked Duck
- Ross's & Snow Geese
These two species of goose look almost the same. The major differences are that the Ross's Goose is smaller and has a shorter bill. - Ruddy Duck
- Swan Goose (domestic version living wild)
- White Goose (domestic version living wild)
- Wood Duck
Coots, Gallinules & Rails
- American Coot
- Clapper Rail (Light-footed)
- Common Moorhen
- Sora
- Virginia Rail
Grebes
Anhinga & Comorants
Other Swimming Birds
- Common Loon
The state bird of Minnesota. - Common Murre
- Pigeon Guillemot
- Surf Scoter
- White-winged Scoter
Aerial Waterbirds
Terns
Gulls
- California Gull
The state bird of Utah - Great Black-backed Gull
- Heermann's Gull
- Herring Gull
- Laughing Gull
- Ring-billed Gull
- Western Gull
Other Aerial Waterbirds
- Black Skimmer
- Brown Pelican
The state bird of Louisiana. - Cassin's Auklet
- Least Storm Petrel
I was able to hold these birds after they were stunned from flying into the boat at night at Guadalupe Island, 180 miles off the coast of Baja, Mexico. All were released early the following morning. - Red-footed Booby
- White Pelican
Buntings, Finches & Sparrows
- American Goldfinch
The state bird of Iowa, New Jersey & Washington. - Cassin's Finch
- Chipping Sparrow
- Dark-eyed Junko
- House Finch
- House Sparrow
- Java Sparrow
- Lark Sparrow
- Lawrence's Goldfinch
- Lesser Goldfinch
- Purple Finch
The state bird of New Hampshire. - Red Crossbill
- Rufous-crowned Sparrow
- Savannah Sparrow
- Song Sparrow
- White-crowned Sparrow
Cardinals, Grosbeaks & Towhees
- Abert's Towhee
- Black-headed Grosbeak
- Blue Grosbeak
- California Towhee
- Canyon Towhee
- Eastern Towhee
- Green-tailed Towhee
- Northern Cardinal
The state bird of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia. - Red-crested Cardinal
- Spotted Towhee
Prefer to see birds arranged by location where photographed? Check out the Photo Locations and Trips Gallery by clicking here.
Unknown Birds
Please send me an email if you can identify any of these birds.
