Grab a pair of binoculars — any old pair — and head out to the back yard or a nearby park. These birds are common in the San Fernando Valley. If you’re not yet a birder and want to see why so many people enjoy this pastime, start looking closer at the “easy” birds that are all around. Once you start to notice how different they are from one another and how many special marks, stripes, colors and quirks they display, you’ll begin to appreciate that birds are an easy and fun way to connect with wildlife that doesn’t involve paying for an African safari.

(FOUR-LETTER CODES ARE “ALPHA” CODES USED BY BIRDERS/ORNITHOLOGISTS FOR BREVITY’S SAKE).

NOTE THAT DURING NON-BREEDING SEASON, MANY OF THE MOST VISIBLE CHARACTERISTICS THAT DIFFERENTIATE MALE BIRDS OF SIMILAR SIZE/SHAPE CAN BE MUTED OR ABSENT.

Click or tap on all photos to enlarge!

House Sparrow (HOSP)

Length: 5.5″ to 6.5″ Weight: 1.4 oz

Male — David Barton

Female — David Barton

House Finch (HOFI)

Length: 6″ Weight: 1 oz.

Female

Non-breeding male

Breeding Male

California Towhee (CALT)

Length: 9″ Weight: 2 oz

Randy Ehler

Rose Liebowitz

Jim Houghton

Jays (CASJ & STJA)

CASJ Length 11″ Weight 2.8 oz STJA Length 11.5″ Weight 4.5 oz

California Scrubjay – Randy Ehler

California Scrubjay – Alex Viduetsky

Steller’s Jay — Gary Park

Hummingbirds

Length 3.5″ to 4″ Weight 0.1 oz (!!)

Male Allen’s — Pat Bates

Female Allen’s — Dave Barton

Male Anna’s — Robert McMorran

Female Anna’s — Matthew Feld

Male Rufous — Scott Logan

Female Rufous — Dave Barton

Male Costa’s — Dick Daniels

Male Black-Chinned — David Barton

Female Black-Chinned — Scott Logan

Goldfinches

Length 4.5″ to 5″ Weight 3.5 – 4 oz

Male Lesser Goldfinch — David Barton

Female Lesser Goldfinch — David Barton

Male American Goldfinch

Female American — David M. Gascogne

Winter American Goldfinch

Winter LEGOS on Nyjer feeder

Spotted Towhee (SPTO)

Length 7″ to 7.5″ Weight 1.4 oz

Spotted Towhee — David Barton

Spotted Towhee — Randy Ehler

Juvenile SPTO — Richard Medvitz

Wrens (HOWR, CANW and BEWR)

Length 4.5″ to 5.25″ Weight 0.4 to 0.5 oz

House Wren — Andy Witchget

Canyon Wren — Pat Bates

Bewick’s Wren — Dave Barton

(Northern) Mockingbird (NOMO)

Length 10″ Weight 2 oz

Pat Bates

Pat Bates

Randy Ehler

Bushtit (BUSH)

Length 4.5″ Weight 0.2 oz

Alex Viduetsky

James Kenney

Jhonell Centeno

Doves (MODO & EUCD)

Length 12″ Weight 4 oz to 6 oz

Mourning Dove – David Barton

Mourning Doves – Gary Park

Eurasian Collared-Dove — Gary Park

Pigeons (ROPI and BTPI)

ROPI Length: 12.5 in. Weight: 9 oz

BTPI Length: 15 in. Weight: 13 oz

Rock Pigeon — Randy Ehler

Band-tailed Pigeon — David Barton

Song Sparrow (SOSP)

Length 6″ to 7.5″ Weight 0.7 oz

James Kenney

David Barton

Pat Bates

Black Phoebe (BLPH)

Length 6″ to 7″ Weight 0.7 oz

BLPH

Randy Ehler

Arnold Joe

American Robin (Redbreast) (AMRO)

Length 10″ Weight 1.7 oz

Randy Ehler

Randy Ehler

Alex Viduetsky

Woodpeckers

Length 7″ to 10.5″ Weight 1 oz to 2.5 oz

Male Nuttall’s

Female NUWO — David Barton

NUWO Pair — James Kenney

Downy — Alex Viduetsky

Hairy — David Barton

Acorn — Ken Jenkins

Bluebirds (Western WEBL, Mountain MOBL)

Length 7″ to 7.75″ Weight 1 oz

Female WEBL — James Kenney

Male WEBL — James Kenny

Male MOBL — Anonymous

Oak Titmouse (OATI)

Length: 5.5 in. Weight: 0.55 oz.

Richard Medvitz

Richard Medvitz

Gary Park

Dark-eyed Junco

Length: 6.25 in. Weight: 0.67 oz.

Gary Park

James Kenney

Juvenile DEJU — David Barton

Is it a Raven (CORA)…or a Crow (AMCR)?

Raven Length: 24 in. Weight 42-44 oz.

Crow Length 17.5 in. Weight 16 oz.

Common Raven

American Crow Photos by Gary Park

Local Warblers (OCWA & COYA)

Orange-crowned Warbler Length 5 in. Weight 0.3 oz.

Common Yellow-throat Length 5 in. Weight 0.4 oz.

Male Common Yellowthroat — David Barton

Female COYA — Wikimedia

Femaile OCWA — Tom Murray

Male Orange-crowned Warbler — Gary Park

Hawks

Cooper’s Hawk (COHA) Length: 14-21 in. Weight: 12-16 oz.

Red-tailed Hawk (RTHA) Length: 19-25 in. Weight: 35-38 oz.

Red-shouldered Hawk (RSHA) Length: 17-24 in. Weight: 17-22 oz.

Juvenile COHA — Davide Barton



Adult COHA — Gary Park

Red-tailed Hawk — Pat Bates

RTHA — James Kenney

RSHA — Alex Viduetsky

RSHA — Gary Park

COHA (Left) and RTHA (Right) — Gary Park

Occasional, Uncommon But Not Rare

There are plenty of birds who aren’t usually seen in urban yards or parks. On the other hand, they do appear from time to time. Sometimes it’s because they are particularly shy and only come out of hiding to look for a mate, or because there simply aren’t many of them in our area. Some migratory individuals, because our SoCal weather is so balmy, decide to stick around all year one year, or move in permanently. Either way such birds are here and they’re rewarding to see and identify. (Remember, you can click on these images to enlarge them.)

Hermit Thrush — Gary Park

Yellow Warbler — Gary Park

California Thrasher — Gary Park

Male California Quail — Gary Park

Female Cal. Quail — Gary Park

Wrentit — Gary Park

Northern Flickers — Gary Park

White-Breasted Nuthatch — Gary Park

Lawrence’s Goldfinch — Gary Park

Black-headed Grosbeak — Gary Park

Lazuli Bunting — Gary Park

Western Tanager — David Barton

Western Meadowlark — Rose Liebowitz

Seasonal Visitors to Southern California

Birds move around. Some migrate over hard-to-believe distances, others shift between close-together mountains and valleys. Either way, driven by seasons, by the availability of food or absence of predators for breeding, birds move around. This page is not concerned with migratory birds who are seen passing through on their way to somewhere else; these are birds that will show up in your backyard or in the park because they’re here for the winter, or here for the spring and summer.

Hooded and Bullock’s Orioles (HOOR & BUOR)

HOOR Length: 7-8 in. Weight 0.8 oz.

BUOR Length: 7.5-8.5 in. Weight 1.3 oz.

Male HOOR — David Barton

Female HOOR — David Barton

Male BUOR — Alex Viduetsky

Female BUOR — Gary Park

Yellow-rumped Warbler (YRWA)

Length 5.5 in. Weight 0.5 oz

Myrtle YRWA — Allen D. Wilson

Audubon’s YRWA — Gary Park

Audubon’s YRWA — Gary Park

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Length: 4.25 in. Weight: 0.22 oz.

Pat Bates

Gary Park

David Barton

White-crowned Sparrow

Length: 7 in. Weight: 1 oz.

Juvenile WCSP — Mark Elliott

James Kenney

Davod Barton

If you see something you don’t recognize in your yard or a park don’t hesitate to email San Fernando Valley Audubon at BirdIdentify@sfvaudubon.org — we’ll do our best to tell you what you’ve seen! Please provide general location, and a photo is pretty essential!