My May 2026 Birdathon Results

This May I set some big goals for my birthday month. Coming off of a fun experience at the 2026 San Diego Bird Festival, I decided to share my hobby with my friends and family. Most people know that I’m into birds to an almost comical level. But many people have never gone birding themselves. There are many ways to go birding, and not all of them need to be intense. But for myself, I was planning a lot of birding. And the main event was a “birdathon”.

On May 9th, I left the house at 6 AM to begin 16 hours of birding. While birding is usually a relaxed activity, on this Saturday I had one primary goal: identify as many species as I could. The San Diego Bird Alliance was organizing their annual Birdathon fundraiser, and I had a 24-hour window to do as much as I could. A couple of weeks before, I had done a practice run and added 3 birds to my life list, so I was optimistic.

Guajome Park

I started at Guajome Park, an inland county park in Oceanside that features a few ponds, grasslands, a forested trail, and a campground. The variety of habitats and close proximity to home made it an ideal place to begin. When I arrived, the loudest birds were actually the domestic peacocks that live just outside the park. I’ve been to the park several times before, including with the local Audubon chapter, but this time I decided to head away from the main pond and further into the park. Immediately I found Cassin’s Kingbirds, European Starlings, a pair of California Towhees and a Hooded Oriole. The trail was also lined with Fence Lizards and Cottontail Rabbits, who were surprisingly unflinching.

My favorite find at the park was the Lawrence’s Goldfinches I saw along the trail heading back from the upper pond. They aren’t as bright as a male American Goldfinch, but they are beautiful and I don’t get to see them that often. I also spent some time trying to get my eyes on the Yellow-breasted Chat I heard. In all, I saw 45 species at Guajome Park in just over 2 hours, walking about 3 miles. That was a great start, but as the day went on it would become harder and harder to add new species to my count.

Lake Hodges

I had originally added Lake Hodges to my itinerary hoping to see Cactus Wren. I never did see one, but it was still a nice scrubland habitat that is indicative of the San Diego area. The lake is man-made, but it’s a refuge for animals that have been displaced as developments cleared out traditional habitat. The dam is in need of repair so the water level has been dropped significantly, leaving a depression where trees and other plants have filled in.

One fun thing about Lake Hodges is all of the swallows that fly overhead. I saw bright blue Tree Swallows, brown Northern Rough-winged Swallows, and Cliff Swallows, which have a white patch at the base of their tail. A pleasant surprise I saw was a family of California Quail scurrying through the underbrush, with dad looking out to make sure the chicks made it to safety. I also found some Bell’s Vireo singing in the trees. After an hour and a half covering about 2 miles, I’d found 24 species, adding 8 to my day’s count.

Santee Lakes

Santee Lakes is a water reclamation project that was one of the first in the country to take wastewater and clean it enough for reuse. It was a big deal at the time, and the concept has been replicated across the West. Now the area is a city park known for its recreational fishing. I went mainly to see some Wood Ducks but it also was where I had the most fun taking photos. I also stopped at the grill for lunch and watched an Osprey catch a fish. In total, I saw 29 species in 2 hours, traveling 2 miles around the ponds and adding 5 to the day’s count.

San Diego River

Around 2:30 PM I made my way to the San Diego River. There I logged three checklists between Hospitality Point, the mudflats, and Famosa Slough. There was a Killdeer right by the road that was unfazed by me walking by. The mudflats had the most interesting birds. I always love watching Black Skimmer scoop fish off the top of the water. There were several other terns, though they were at times hard to count. I was able to confirm that there were Caspian Terns and Elegant Tern. The mudflats host a lot of herons, including both Little Blue Heron and Reddish Egret. There were also 3 grebes across the water, but I struggled to tell what kind. In reviewing the photos, I got a tip that at least one was a Western Grebe. Lastly, I went to the Famosa Slough, which is a calm tidal drainage area just off the river and surrounded by apartments. I added some Black-crowned Night Herons to my day and saw a few more herons I’d seen earlier. That added 14 species to the day.

Tijuana Estuary

By 6 PM I had made it all the way to the Mexican border for some birding at the Tijuana Slough, which is a tidal marsh just north of the Tijuana River. It’s one of my favorite places to bird because it’s a peaceful place on the edge of the city without the road noise many other preserves have to deal with in San Diego. I heard some Ridgway’s Rail and went back to the car to get the SD card to take some pictures. So I was excited when I got some rare views of the rails a few moments later. I took some shots of a male Common Yellowthroat briefly coming out from hiding in the brush, only to realize I had never actually put the SD card in the camera.

Despite the embarrassing camera moment, it was still good birding. There were lots of Savannah Sparrows, which are like Song Sparrows but with a buzzier song and some yellow on their heads. There was also a Yellow-crowned Night Heron and Willet. It was getting late, but I finally got the Northern Harrier I often see floating over the marsh looking for prey. After getting back to my car, I moved over to the beach side to look at some terns and found a Royal Tern. At those two locations I added 18 species and 13 species, respectively, and 8 to my birdathon total.

Birdathon Results

At the beginning of June, the San Diego Bird Alliance held a closing celebration for all the participants. There they announced the winners for different categories, like the most money raised and the most species seen by a group. I won the category for species count by a solo birder. It was nice to be recognized, see some of the people I’d met at the bird festival, and to meet with some of the other competitors. Vanessa and I spoke for a long time about growing up in Connecticut and our different birding spots in San Diego. Some of the teams have been birding for decades and it was nice to hear how they enjoy the event together. As an individual participant, I liked coming to the closing to see how everyone’s contributions came together. As a whole, we raised about $35,000 for the SD Bird Alliance. Thanks to everyone who contributed to my fundraiser, helping me raise $621.

Other Birding Activities

In addition to the birdathon on the Global Big Day, I hosted 3 other birding events where I took people birding. I hadn’t done much of that before, but after the San Diego Bird Festival I was inspired to lead birding walks myself.

Birding with Grace and Peace Church

At the start of the month I took a couple families birding after church at Hosp Grove. We saw 14 species, including Allen’s Hummingbirds, Northern House Wren, and a Red-shouldered Hawk calling overhead. Hosp Grove is tucked between a mall and a neighborhood so it was cool to show how much there can be even in a developed suburban space.

Family Birding in Connecticut

I spent my birthday with family on the east coast and we arranged a time to take some of the kids in the family birding at Machimoodus State Park. It was perfect timing as the leaves on the trees hadn’t fully grown and you could see the warblers migrating through. My mom and I went to the park the day before and I saw 4 lifers including the Blue-winged Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Orchard Oriole, and the Ovenbird I heard calling. The next day we had a whole group of us.

My niece, nephew, and 3 of my cousins’ kids joined 8 adults from the family walking around. Machimoodus has a good mix of pond, field, and forest so there was a variety of different species. The kids really liked the Red-winged Blackbirds, which are bold and prominently sing near the ponds. The adults liked the bright blue Indigo Bunting, which we saw in the trees in several spots.

In all we saw 32 species. Other fun finds were the Baltimore Oriole, which was weaving a hanging nest, and the Bald Eagles that passed overhead. We also heard one of my favorite calls, a Wood Thrush which sounds other-worldly. I saw 2 new lifers including Rose-breasted Grosbeak and (Eastern) Warbling Vireo.

Memorial Day Birding with Friends

Lastly, I took some friends to Batiquitos Lagoon in Carlsbad, California. It was over a dozen people: a mix of frisbee friends, friends I’ve known for nearly a decade, and a few other contexts. I leaned into my best field guide impression and threw in a bunch of facts about both the birds and the area. Starting out, it was a bit noisy because of the road noise from the interstate. But as we got further away we started to see and hear more birds.

In just under 2 hours we saw 22 species including some interesting bird behaviors. There was a family of Northern House Wren in a nest. We could hear the chicks calling out for food and see the parents hurrying back and forth with bugs for them. As we walked down the trail, a Bewick’s Wren landed in front of us and began to dust bathe. We also saw an Osprey dive into the water, attempting to catch a fish.

I appreciated all the friends who came out. I really enjoyed sharing my hobby with others and tried to emphasize that the goal is more about enjoying nature than identifying all the birds. I’ve considered hosting more trips, but it would depend on interest. It has also made me more grateful for the work that guides put into the walks I’ve been on.

Conclusion

By the end of May, I had done a lot of birding. I had logged 144 species across 38 checklists. The following month, I did a bit less “listing” of birds with only 55 species across 5 lists. I really enjoyed being able to introduce people to more birds and show them why I enjoy it. It also felt great to be able to raise some money to support local birds. Thanks again to everyone who participated in my birthday birding month. I hope it brought you some joy the way it did me.