sbcobirding receives the generous support of the
Santa Barbara Audubon Society. For more than
50 years SBAS has helped to preserve the
biological diversity of the Santa Barbara area.
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This website was created as a resource for everything birding in Santa Barbara County. The goal is
simply to promote the activity of field birding in the county and to provide information to interested
birders. If you have comments about this website or would like more information about local birding,
please contact me.
A Birder’s Guide to Santa Barbara County
Santa Barbara Audubon
sbcobirding © copyright 2024
NORTH COAST
Includes nearshore waters, sandy beaches, rocky
coastline, estuaries, dune scrub, and coastal foothills.
Vandenberg SFB comprises much of the north coast.
Population centers include the cities of Santa Maria,
Guadalupe, and Lompoc
INTERIOR & MOUNTAINS
Interior lowlands are characterized by oak savanna,
grasslands, riparian woodlands, vineyards, oak covered
foothills, montane coniferous forest. Lake Cachuma is the
largest freshwater lake. Towns include Buellton, Los
Olivos, Solvang, and Santa Ynez
SOUTH COAST
From Pt. Conception east to Rincon Pt. Includes
nearshore waters, coastal bluffs, sandy beaches, sloughs
and estuaries, foothill canyons, county and city parks.
Population centers include the cities of Goleta, Santa
Barbara, Montecito, and Carpinteria
CUYAMA VALLEY
An arid, semi-desert region characterized by foothills,
canyons and grassland along the length of the Sierra
Madre Range, pinyon pine and juniper woodland,
sagebrush, extensive agriculture areas of alfalfa,
pistachios, and vineyards on the valley floor
Key:
The following key symbols are used on each guide page:
sp | su | fa | wi
Best seasons for observing the greatest variety of birds (spring, summer, fall, or winter)
+
Map icon takes you to the eBird Hotspot map. Many surrounding Hotspots may be worth exploring. These are indicated by +
eBird Hotspot link for the described location. You can search all species and recent sightings from this eBird Hotspot. Often there are multiple Hotspots in an area
The location has either a day use, camping, entrance or parking fee associated with it
CHANNEL ISLANDS
Includes the northern Channel Islands of San Miguel,
Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, and Santa Barbara Island in the
southern Channel Islands. Offshore waters including the
Santa Barbara Channel. Rocky coastline, coves
and anchorages, grasslands, and island chaparral
