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| − | [[Image:Yellow-billed_Magpie.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Yellow-billed Magpie, a California endemic. Photo by Doug Greenberg.<br/>]]
| + | #REDIRECT [[:Category:California]] |
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| − | ==Overview==
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| − | Despite its ever-increasing population, California's reputation for environmental protection is well deserved. Visiting birders who venture outside of Los Angeles and San Francisco will find vast areas of protected wilderness home to a diverse avifauna.
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| − | ==Birds==
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| − | ===Notable Species===
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| − | Well over 500 species have been recorded in California. The state is home to two endemic species, the [[Yellow-billed Magpie]] of the Central Valley and the [[Island Scrub-Jay]] of Santa Cruz Island. Other near-endemics include [[California Towhee]], [[Nuttall's Woodpecker]], [[California Gnatcatcher]], [[California Thrasher]] and [[Tricolored Blackbird]]. The state bird is [[California Quail]].
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| − | ===Rarities===
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| − | Every autumn numerous lost migrants from the forests of eastern North America arrive in coastal California, usually at migrant traps such as [[Point Reyes National Seashore|Point Reyes]] and the [[Farallon Islands]]. Smaller numbers of Siberian vagrants, usually shorebirds, also occur.
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| − | ==Site Information==
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| − | [[:Category:California|List of California Sites]] | |
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| − | ===Areas of Interest===
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| − | '''Great Basin and Modoc Plateau'''
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| − | The far north and east of California is home to a typical selection of Great Basin birds found nowhere else in the state, including [[Greater Sage Grouse]], [[Juniper Titmouse]], [[Cordilleran Flycatcher]], [[Red-naped Sapsucker]], and [[Sage Thrasher]].
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| − | *[[Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge]]
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| − | '''Northwest Coast'''
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| − | The great redwood forests of northwestern California support species such as [[Varied Thrush]] and the endangered [[Spotted Owl]].
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| − | '''High Sierra'''
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| − | The forests and alpine meadows of the Sierra Nevada attract hordes of tourists, as well as birders in search of [[Blue Grouse|Sooty Grouse]], [[Black-backed Woodpecker]], [[Williamson's Sapsucker]], [[Cassin's Finch]] and [[Yosemite National Park|Yosemite]]'s isolated population of [[Great Grey Owl|Great Gray Owl]]s.
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| − | '''Central Valley'''
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| − | The plains and marshes of the Central Valley serve as a winter refuge for waterfowl, including [[Snow Goose|Snow Geese]], [[Ross's Goose|Ross's Geese]], and [[Tundra Swan]]s. [[Sandhill Crane]]s also winter, while the oak-covered foothills hold the endemic [[Yellow-billed Magpie]].
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| − | *[[Colusa National Wildlife Refuge]]
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| − | *[[Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge]]
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| − | '''San Francisco Bay Area'''
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| − | [[Point Reyes National Seashore|Point Reyes]] is one of the world's great migrant traps. The much-reduced marshes around San Francisco Bay support an endemic subspecies of [[Clapper Rail]].
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| − | '''Central Coast'''
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| − | The coastal cliffs from Monterey and Big Sur to the south are excellent places to observe such species as [[Brandt's Cormorant]], [[Black Oystercatcher]], and [[Black Swift]]. Inland the dry hills of the Coast Ranges are home to [[California Thrasher]]s and a reintroduced population of [[California Condor]]s.
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| − | '''Southern Coast'''
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| − | While southern California's coastal scrub has been greatly reduced by the development of metropolitan Los Angeles, a few remaining patches still hold the endangered [[California Gnatcatcher]]. The offshore [[Channel Islands National Park]] is home to the endemic [[Island Scrub-Jay]].
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| − | *[[Bolsa Chica Wetlands]]
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| − | *[[Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve]]
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| − | '''The Desert'''
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| − | California's deserts are northern and western outposts for species such as [[Ladder-backed Woodpecker]], [[Scott's Oriole]], [[Brown-crested Flycatcher]], and [[Cactus Wren]].
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| − | *[[Kern River and Indian Wells Valleys]]
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| − | '''Offshore Waters'''
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| − | California's Pacific Coast boasts some of the best pelagic birding in the United States. [[Monterey Bay]] and [[Bodega Bay]] are popular departure points for birders in search of petrels, shearwaters, and alcids.
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| − | ==References==
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| − | * John Kemper, [http://www.amazon.com/Birding-Northern-California-John-Kemper/dp/1560448326/ref=sr_1_1/104-0838897-5411136?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1188151769&sr=1-1 Birding Northern California] (Falcon, 1999)
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| − | * Brad Schram and Harold Holt, [http://www.amazon.com/Birders-Southern-California-Birdfinding-Guide/dp/1878788175/ref=sr_1_1/104-0838897-5411136?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1188151906&sr=1-1 A Birder's Guide to Southern California] (American Birding Association, 1998)
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| − | ==External Links==
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| − | * Joe Morlan, [http://fog.ccsf.cc.ca.us/~jmorlan/rare.htm California Birding]
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| − | ''Content and images originally posted by nhoneth''
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| − | <!-- -->
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| − | [[Category:Stubs]] [[Category:Locations]]
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