Despite having visited many times, I had never gone birding in California—a state brimming with potential lifers. Summer may not be the ideal season for birding there, but it was the time I had available, and it turned out to be a terrific trip. I visited some parts of the state I had never seen, saw beautiful scenery, and notched 40 lifers.
I had intended to camp in California state parks, but discovered during my planning, that the campgrounds are very popular and extremely difficult to reserve. In fact, many of the parks have lottery-style systems for camping spots. So instead I stayed in nearby county and regional parks.
Read the Full Trip
- Lake Isabella/southern Sierra Nevada, July 22 – 24
- California Central Coast, July 25 – August 5
- Southern California, August 6 – 10
- California Desert, August 11 – 13
- Bonus: Arizona Sky Islands, August 14 – 21
Everyone needs to take a look at your California – July/August ’26 entry. There are some really nice images.