Southern California is an area rich in diversity. It has a diverse array of habitat communities, including deserts, mountains, woodlands, riparian forests, chaparral and sage scrub, marshes, lakes and rivers, and the ocean. These communities, combined with the relatively mild climate, make southern California home to a wide variety and abundance of plants and animals, including birds (and of course people). California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) is located on the coastal slope of southern California at the base of the San Bernardino Mountains. The campus itself is well-landscaped with lawns and trees that are attractive to birds that have adapted to human habitation, while the areas immediately surrounding campus harbor interior coastal sage scrub and chaparral that provide refuge to many of our native species.
The following list represents all the bird species that I have seen on campus since I started birding the area in 2002. As of October 2009, I have recorded 132 species on or immediately adjacent to the CSUSB campus. The main list below lists each bird's common name and the likelihood of seeing it on campus. Each common name provides a link to a web page with more detailed information on each species, including a photograph, a more detailed explanation of its status on campus and in the general area, identification tips, and links to more information. Many of the photographs were taken at CSU San Bernardino. Special thanks go to Brad Singer for providing photographs of several species for which I did not have pictures. Additional photographs of birds taken on the CSUSB campus may be found on my Flickr page.
In the main list below, an asterisk (*) indicates that the species is known to have bred or attempted to nest on campus. A dagger (†) indicates that the species probably or potentially breeds on campus but nesting evidence has not been recorded. The following definitions should be used when reading the bird list:
| Status | Likelihood of Sighting |
|---|---|
| Common | Likely to be seen more than 75% of trips |
| Uncommon | Likely to be seen about 25-75% of trips |
| Rare | Likely to be seen less than 25% of trips |
| Accidental | Has occurred, but not to be expected |
| Season | Months |
|---|---|
| Fall | September-November |
| Winter | December-February |
| Spring | March-May |
| Summer | June-August |
Note that the status refers to the likelihood of seeing a particular species, not the species’ abundance on campus. For example, the Black Phoebe is a common year-round resident on campus: you might see only 5-10 birds while walking around campus, but you should see this species on almost every visit. Alternatively, you might see Cedar Waxwings on campus only a few times per year, but when you do it could be a flock of 100 birds. The CSUSB campus comprises a relatively small area, so except for a few flocking species (e.g., blackbirds, sparrows, finches) you should not expect to see large numbers of individuals of any single species.
Ducks & Quail
- American Wigeon - Accidental
- Mallard - Rare, Winter and Spring
- Cinnamon Teal - Rare, Spring
- Ring-necked Duck - Accidental
- Bufflehead - Accidental
- California Quail† - Uncommon, year-round
Pelicans & Herons
- Double-crested Cormorant - Accidental
- Great Blue Heron - Accidental
- Great Egret - Accidental
- Snowy Egret - Rare, Winter
- Black-crowned Night-Heron - Accidental
Vultures, Hawks, Falcons
- Turkey Vulture - Rare, Spring
- Osprey - Accidental
- Northern Harrier - Accidental
- Sharp-shinned Hawk - Accidental
- Cooper's Hawk† - Uncommon, year-round
- Red-shouldered Hawk - Accidental
- Swainson's Hawk - Accidental
- Red-tailed Hawk* - Common, year-round
- American Kestrel† - Common, year-round
- Merlin - Rare, Winter
Shorebirds & Gulls
- Killdeer* - Common, year-round
- Black-necked Stilt - Rare, Winter and Spring
- American Avocet - Accidental
- Greater Yellowlegs - Rare, Winter
- Least Sandpiper - Accidental
- Ring-billed Gull - Accidental
- California Gull - Uncommon, Fall through Spring
Pigeons & Cuckoos
- Rock Pigeon† - Common, year-round
- Band-tailed Pigeon† - Uncommon, year-round
- White-winged Dove - Accidental
- Mourning Dove* - Common, year-round
- Greater Roadrunner† - Accidental
Owls & Goatsuckers
- Great Horned Owl* - Rare, year-round
- Lesser Nighthawk - Accidental
Swifts & Hummingbirds
- Vaux's Swift - Rare, Spring and Fall
- White-throated Swift - Rare, Spring and Fall
- Black-chinned Hummingbird - Rare, Spring and Summer
- Anna's Hummingbird* - Common, year-round
- Costa's Hummingbird* - Common, year-round
- Rufous Hummingbird - Rare, Spring
Woodpeckers
- Acorn Woodpecker - Rare, Spring and Fall
- Red-breasted Sapsucker - Rare, Winter
- Nuttall's Woodpecker* - Uncommon, year-round
- Northern Flicker - Uncommon, Fall and Winter
Flycatchers
- Western Wood-Pewee - Rare, Fall
- Willow Flycatcher - Accidental
- Gray Flycatcher - Rare, Winter
- Pacific-slope Flycatcher - Accidental
- Black Phoebe* - Common, year-round
- Say's Phoebe* - Common, year-round
- Vermilion Flycatcher* - Common, Spring and Summer
- Ash-throated Flycatcher - Uncommon, Spring and Fall
- Cassin's Kingbird* - Common, year-round
- Western Kingbird* - Common, Spring and Summer
Shrikes, Vireos, & Jays
- Loggerhead Shrike - Rare, Fall and Spring
- Plumbeous Vireo - Rare, Spring and Fall
- Cassin's Vireo - Accidental
- Warbling Vireo - Rare, Spring and Fall
- Western Scrub-Jay† - Uncommon, year-round
- American Crow† - Common, year-round
- Common Raven† - Uncommon, year-round
Larks & Swallows
- Horned Lark - Rare, Fall and Winter
- Tree Swallow - Rare, Spring
- Violet-green Swallow - Rare, Spring and Summer
- Northern Rough-winged Swallow - Uncommon, Spring
- Cliff Swallow* - Common, Spring and Summer
- Barn Swallow† - Common, Spring and Summer
Chickadees, Wrens, etc.
- Mountain Chickadee - Uncommon, Fall and Winter
- Oak Titmouse - Uncommon, Fall and Spring
- Bushtit* - Uncommon, year-round
- White-breasted Nuthatch - Rare, Fall and Winter
- Brown Creeper - Accidental
- Rock Wren† - Uncommon, year-round
- Bewick's Wren† - Uncommon, year-round
- House Wren† - Uncommon, year-round
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet - Common, Fall through Spring
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - Rare, Fall and Spring
Thrushes & Thrashers
- Western Bluebird* - Common, year-round
- Mountain Bluebird - Accidental
- Hermit Thrush - Accidental
- American Robin* - Common, year-round
- Wrentit - Rare, year-round
- Northern Mockingbird* - Common, year-round
- California Thrasher† - Rare, year-round
Starlings, Pipits, etc.
- European Starling* - Common, year-round
- American Pipit - Uncommon, Fall through Spring
- Cedar Waxwing - Rare, Fall and Spring
- Phainopepla* - Uncommon, Spring and Summer
Warblers & Tanagers
- Orange-crowned Warbler - Uncommon, Fall through Spring
- Nashville Warbler - Rare, Spring and Fall
- Yellow Warbler - Uncommon, Spring through Fall
- Yellow-rumped Warbler - Common, Fall through Spring
- Black-throated Gray Warbler - Uncommon, Spring and Fall
- Townsend's Warbler - Accidental
- MacGillivray's Warbler - Rare, Spring and Fall
- Common Yellowthroat - Rare, Fall through Spring
- Wilson's Warbler - Uncommon, Spring and Fall
- Western Tanager - Uncommon, Spring and Fall
Sparrows
- Spotted Towhee† - Uncommon, year-round
- California Towhee† - Common, year-round
- Rufous-crowned Sparrow* - Uncommon, year-round
- Chipping Sparrow - Common, Fall through Spring
- Brewer's Sparrow - Accidental, Fall
- Vesper Sparrow - Uncommon, Fall through Spring
- Lark Sparrow* - Common, year-round
- Sage Sparrow* - Uncommon, year-round
- Savannah Sparrow - Common, Fall through Spring
- Grasshopper Sparrow† - Rare, Spring
- Fox Sparrow - Accidental
- Song Sparrow - Rare, year-round
- Lincoln's Sparrow - Uncommon, Fall through Spring
- White-crowned Sparrow - Common, Fall through Spring
- Golden-crowned Sparrow - Accidental
- Dark-eyed Junco - Uncommon, Fall through Spring
Grosbeaks & Blackbirds
- Black-headed Grosbeak - Uncommon, Spring and Summer
- Blue Grosbeak† - Uncommon, Spring and Summer
- Lazuli Bunting† - Uncommon, Spring and Summer
- Red-winged Blackbird - Rare, year-round
- Western Meadowlark - Uncommon, Fall and Winter
- Brewer's Blackbird* - Common, year-round
- Great-tailed Grackle - Rare, Spring and Summer
- Brown-headed Cowbird† - Common, Spring and Summer
- Hooded Oriole - Rare, Spring
- Bullock's Oriole - Common, Spring and Summer
Finches & Old World Sparrows
- House Finch* - Common, year-round
- Red Crossbill - Accidental
- Pine Siskin - Rare, Winter and Spring
- Lesser Goldfinch* - Common, year-round
- Lawrence's Goldfinch* - Common, Spring and Summer
- American Goldfinch* - Common, year-round
- House Sparrow* - Common, year-round