List of birds of Santa Cruz County, California

This seasonal checklist was developed from records compiled by the Santa Cruz Bird Club, updated most recently September 30, 2002. Included here are common (C), fairly common (F), and uncommon (U) occurrences. Not included are rare, casual, and irregular sightings.

Santa Cruz County is located on the California coast, south of San Francisco and north of Carmel and Monterey.

Santa Cruz County, California
Species	Spring	Summer	Fall	Winter
Red-throated Loon	C	-	C	F
Pacific Loon	C	-	C	C
Common Loon	C	-	C	F
Pied-billed Grebe	C	F	C	C
Horned Grebe	-	-	-	U
Eared Grebe	-	-	-	U
Western Grebe	C	F	C	C
Clark's Grebe	F	F	U	F
American White Pelican	-	U	F	U
Brown Pelican	F	C	C	F
Brandt's Cormorant	C	C	C	C
Double-crested Cormorant	F	U	C	C
Pelagic Cormorant	F	F	F	F
American Bittern	-	-	U	U
Great Blue Heron	F	F	F	F
Great Egret	U	-	F	F
Snowy Egret	U	-	F	F
Cattle Egret	-	-	-	U
Green Heron	U	U	U	U
Black-crowned Night Heron	U	U	F	F
Turkey Vulture	F	F	U	-
Canada Goose	U	-	U	U
Brant	C	-	U	-
Wood Duck	U	U	F	F
Gadwall	F	U	F	F
American Wigeon	-	-	U	C
Mallard	C	C	C	C
Blue-winged Teal	-	-	U	U
Cinnamon Teal	C	U	U	F
Northern Shoveler	U	-	U	F
Northern Pintail	U	-	U	F
Green-winged Teal	U	-	F	C
Canvasback	U	-	F	C
Ring-necked Duck	U	-	U	C
Greater Scaup	R	-	R	U
Lesser Scaup	U	-	U	F
Surf Scoter	C	U	C	C
White-winged Scoter	U	-	U	U
Bufflehead	-	-	U	C
Common Goldeneye	-	-	U	F
Hooded Merganser	-	-	U	F
Common Merganser	U	U	U	U
Red-breasted Merganser	F	-	U	F
Ruddy Duck	F	U	F	C
Osprey	U	-	U	-
White-tailed Kite	U	U	F	F
Northern harrier	-	-	U	U
Sharp-shinned Hawk	F	U	F	F
Cooper's Hawk	F	U	F	F
Red-shouldered Hawk	U	U	F	F
Red-tailed Hawk	C	F	C	C
Ferruginous Hawk	-	-	-	U
Golden Eagle	U	U	U	U
American Kestrel	U	U	F	F
Merlin	-	-	U	U
Peregrine Falcon	U	-	U	U
Wild Turkey	U	U	U	U
California Quail	C	C	C	C
Virginia Rail	U	U	F	F
Sora	U	-	F	F
Common Moorhen	-	-	-	U
American Coot	C	F	C	C
Black-bellied Plover	C	-	C	C
Snowy Plover	U	U	U	F
Semipalmated Plover	F	-	F	-
Killdeer	U	U	F	C
Black Osytercatcher	U	U	U	U
Black-necked Stilt	U	-	F	F
American Avocet	-	-	U	U
Greater Yellowlegs	F	-	F	U
Lesser Yellowlegs	-	-	U	-
Willet	C	U	C	C
Wandering Tattler	U	-	U	-
Spotted Sandpiper	U	-	U	U
Whimbrel	F	-	F	U
Long-billed Curlew	U	-	U	-
Marbled Godwit	C	U	C	C
Ruddy turnstone	F	-	F	F
Black turnstone	C	-	C	C
Surfbird	F	-	F	F
Sanderling	C	-	C	C
Western Sandpiper	C	-	F	-
Least Sandpiper	C	-	F	U
Dunlin	C	-	F	U
Short-billed Dowitcher	F	-	F	-
Long-billed Dowitcher	F	-	F	U
Wilson's Snipe	-	-	U	F
Wilson's Phalarope	U	-	-	-
Red-necked Phalarope	C	-	C	-
Red Phalarope	C	-	C	F
Pomarine Jaeger	F	-	F	-
Parasitic Jaeger	U	-	F	-
Bonaparte's Gull	C	-	C	U
Heermann's Gull	U	C	C	C
Mew Gull	U	-	F	C
Ring-billed Gull	U	-	F	C
California Gull	C	U	C	C
Herring Gull	U	-	U	F
Thayer's Gull	-	-	U	U
Western Gull	C	C	C	C
Glaucous-winged Gull	F	-	C	C
Sabine's Gull	U	-	U	-
Black-legged Kittiwake	U	-	U	F
Caspian Tern	F	F	-	-
Elegant Tern	-	C	C	-
Common Tern	F	-	F	-
Arctic Tern	F	-	F	-
Forster's Tern	C	F	U	F
Common Murre	C	C	C	C
Pigeon Guillemot	C	C	-	-
Marbled Murrelet	F	F	U	U
Xantus's Murrelet	-	-	U	-
Ancient Murrelet	U	-	U	F
Cassin's Auklet	F	F	C	C
Rhinoceros Auklet	F	U	F	C
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