When it comes to habitat diversity, California has few rivals. Every few miles, things change, which makes for superb birding -- from Marbled Murrelets, Sooty Shearwaters, and Black-footed Albatrosses, to enigmatic Wrentits, Nuttall's and White-headed woodpeckers, Williamson's Sapsucker, California Thrashers, Bell's Sparrow, Lawrence's Goldfinch, and Oak Titmouse. And some species widespread elsewhere have California twists, such as "California Raven" and "Thick-billed" Fox Sparrow; even the White-breasted Nuthatches are different!

Our tour begins in the San Francisco Bay area; coastal California in fall is a vagrant magnet, so you never know what may turn up (in recent years, we've seen Philadelphia Vireo, Magnolia Warbler, and Eastern Yellow Wagtal!). A highlight will be a pelagic to the rich waters of the Pacific where our main quest will be seabirds -- including Pink-footed, Sooty, Buller's, and maybe Flesh-footed shearwaters. Of course we also hope to run into Black-footed Albatross, storm-petrels, Cassin's and Rhinoceros auklets, whales, and who knows what else -- the ocean always holds surprises.

We'll cross the agricultural Central Valley and head to the Sierra Mountains, where we'll spend a few days in the conifer forests for such rewards as Hermit Warbler, Clark's Nutcracker, Red-breasted Sapsucker, and Mountain Quail; then we'll visit the sage desert of the Mono Basin where we'll seek Pinyon Jay, Sage Thrasher, and Greater Sage-Grouse. Come join us on this cross section of northern California, a region both birdy and beautiful.

Select the KEY INFO tab or click here for our itinerary plus space requests, status, fees, limits, and guides for any departure.

Client comment
"The company was highly recommended by a friend, and this tour was perfect for my birding needs — species, location, pelagic trip. It was an excellent tour. Travel was uncomplicated and comfortable. Guides Tom Johnson and Micah Riegner got all of the group on the birds. Tom is an easy-going, extremely knowledgeable guide. Micah was also easy to work with, knowledgeable, and has amazing bird-spotting skills. Your office service was wonderful. I was never made to feel like I was being a pest with my millions of questions. I rank Field Guides among the top of my list." C.O., SLICE OF CALIFORNIA: SEABIRDS TO SIERRA 2019