BirdAnalyst
Bird Conservation Region 32

Coastal California

An ecological region spanning California, with 122 survey routes. BCRs are the natural unit for bird trends.

What Is Moving HereNotable signalsLong-arc shifts the engine flags automatically — sustained declines or increases large enough to stand out from year-to-year noise.Full methodology →

long arc declinecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

Yellow-headed Blackbird has collapsed in Coastal California: down 98% on the route-weighted index since 1970.

long arc increasecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

Eurasian Collared-Dove has surged in Coastal California: up 170× on the route-weighted index since 2006.

long arc declinecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

Black-necked Stilt has collapsed in Coastal California: down 98% on the route-weighted index since 1970.

long arc increasecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

Canada Goose has surged in Coastal California: up 100× on the route-weighted index since 1985.

long arc declinecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

Green-tailed Towhee has collapsed in Coastal California: down 97% on the route-weighted index since 1971.

long arc increasecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

California Gull has surged in Coastal California: up 74× on the route-weighted index since 1973.

How Guilds Are FaringGuild trendA mean-index aggregate across the species in this group — the structural direction of the guild, with individual-species noise smoothed out.Full methodology →

-85%

Grassland birds

6 species
-69%

Shorebirds

6 species
-65%

Wetland birds

30 species
-28%

Generalists

13 species
-14%

Aerial insectivores

24 species
-12%

Birds of prey

19 species
-11%

Game birds

4 species
-10%

Arid-land birds

11 species
+6%

Forest birds

77 species
+50%

Waterfowl

10 species

Survey Routes

Species By FamilyTrendPercent change in the route-weighted abundance index between a smoothed baseline window and the most recent one. It tracks direction, not absolute population.Full methodology →

Hawks, Eagles & Kites Accipitridae

Bald Eagle +567%Cooper's Hawk +6%Golden Eagle -52%Northern Harrier -75%Red-shouldered Hawk +503%Red-tailed Hawk +69%Sharp-shinned Hawk +17%Swainson's Hawk 27×White-tailed Kite -73%

Bushtits Aegithalidae

Bushtit -50%

Larks Alaudidae

Horned Lark -89%

Kingfishers Alcedinidae

Belted Kingfisher -26%

Ducks, Geese & Waterfowl Anatidae

Canada Goose 100×Cinnamon Teal -85%Common Merganser -29%Gadwall +43%Mallard +80%Northern Pintail -77%Northern Shoveler +244%Redhead +33%Ruddy Duck -44%Wood Duck +132%

Swifts Apodidae

Black Swift -4%Vaux's Swift +34%White-throated Swift -72%

Herons, Egrets & Bitterns Ardeidae

American Bittern -34%Black-crowned Night Heron +119%Great Blue Heron +70%Great Egret 40×Green Heron +38%Snowy Egret +138%Western Cattle-Egret +256%

Waxwings Bombycillidae

Cedar Waxwing -78%

Nightjars & Nighthawks Caprimulgidae

Common Nighthawk -75%Common Poorwill +54%Lesser Nighthawk -27%

Cardinals & Grosbeaks Cardinalidae

Black-headed Grosbeak -16%Blue Grosbeak +63%Lazuli Bunting +52%Western Tanager -22%

New World Vultures Cathartidae

Turkey Vulture +172%

Treecreepers Certhiidae

Brown Creeper +21%

Plovers & Lapwings Charadriidae

Killdeer -29%

Dippers Cinclidae

American Dipper +50%

Pigeons & Doves Columbidae

Band-tailed Pigeon +36%Eurasian Collared-Dove 170×Mourning Dove -2%Rock Pigeon +30%Spotted Dove -82%

Crows, Jays & Magpies Corvidae

American Crow +38%California Scrub-Jay -1%Clark's Nutcracker -95%Common Raven +424%Pinyon Jay -7%Steller's Jay -23%Yellow-billed Magpie -34%

Cuckoos, Roadrunners & Anis Cuculidae

Greater Roadrunner -86%

Falcons & Caracaras Falconidae

American Kestrel -76%Peregrine Falcon +136%Prairie Falcon +224%

Finches Fringillidae

American Goldfinch +54%Cassin's Finch -87%House Finch -23%Lawrence's Goldfinch +19%Lesser Goldfinch +75%Pine Siskin -40%Purple Finch +22%Red Crossbill -42%

Swallows & Martins Hirundinidae

Bank Swallow -95%Barn Swallow +206%Cliff Swallow -14%Northern Rough-winged Swallow -65%Purple Martin +14%Tree Swallow +158%Violet-green Swallow -60%

Blackbirds & Orioles Icteridae

Brewer's Blackbird -77%Brown-headed Cowbird +49%Bullock's Oriole -37%Great-tailed Grackle 12×Hooded Oriole +579%Red-winged Blackbird -52%Scott's Oriole -48%Tricolored Blackbird -48%Western Meadowlark -77%Yellow-headed Blackbird -98%

Yellow-breasted Chat Icteriidae

Yellow-breasted Chat +84%

Shrikes Laniidae

Loggerhead Shrike -85%

Gulls, Terns & Skimmers Laridae

Black Tern -75%California Gull 74×Caspian Tern -20%Forster's Tern -60%Ring-billed Gull -95%Western Gull -72%

Mockingbirds & Thrashers Mimidae

California Thrasher +15%LeConte's Thrasher -93%Northern Mockingbird +41%

New World Quail Odontophoridae

California Quail +34%Mountain Quail +11%

Osprey Pandionidae

Osprey +816%

Chickadees & Titmice Paridae

Chestnut-backed Chickadee -46%Mountain Chickadee -77%Oak Titmouse +61%

Wood-Warblers Parulidae

Black-throated Gray Warbler +881%Common Yellowthroat 20×Hermit Warbler +286%MacGillivray's Warbler -42%Nashville Warbler +67%Orange-crowned Warbler +160%Wilson's Warbler +106%Yellow Warbler +14%

New World Sparrows Passerellidae

Bell's Sparrow -44%Black-chinned Sparrow -78%Black-throated Sparrow -83%Brewer's Sparrow -94%California Towhee +13%Chipping Sparrow -74%Fox Sparrow -83%Grasshopper Sparrow +615%Green-tailed Towhee -97%Lark Sparrow -46%Rufous-crowned Sparrow +620%Savannah Sparrow -44%Song Sparrow +135%Spotted Towhee +38%White-crowned Sparrow -86%

Old World Sparrows Passeridae

House Sparrow -57%

Pelicans Pelecanidae

American White Pelican +7%Brown Pelican 24×

Cormorants Phalacrocoracidae

Double-crested Cormorant +599%

Pheasants, Grouse & Turkeys Phasianidae

Ring-necked Pheasant -93%Wild Turkey 35×

Woodpeckers Picidae

Acorn Woodpecker +88%Downy Woodpecker +18%Hairy Woodpecker +18%Lewis's Woodpecker -74%Nuttall's Woodpecker +65%Pileated Woodpecker +5%Red-breasted Sapsucker -56%White-headed Woodpecker -82%

Grebes Podicipedidae

Clark's Grebe +107%Eared Grebe -92%Pied-billed Grebe -14%Western Grebe +67%

Gnatcatchers Polioptilidae

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher +860%California Gnatcatcher +88%

Silky-flycatchers Ptiliogonatidae

Phainopepla +35%

Rails, Gallinules & Coots Rallidae

American Coot -48%Common Gallinule -86%Virginia Rail -13%

Avocets & Stilts Recurvirostridae

American Avocet -80%Black-necked Stilt -98%

Kinglets Regulidae

Golden-crowned Kinglet +198%

Sandpipers & Allies Scolopacidae

Long-billed Curlew -60%Spotted Sandpiper -54%Wilson's Snipe +69%

Nuthatches Sittidae

Pygmy Nuthatch -66%Red-breasted Nuthatch +55%White-breasted Nuthatch +93%

Owls Strigidae

Burrowing Owl -94%Great Horned Owl +158%Northern Pygmy-Owl -50%Western Screech-Owl -26%

Starlings & Mynas Sturnidae

European Starling +36%

Sylviid Warblers Sylviidae

Wrentit +22%

Ibises & Spoonbills Threskiornithidae

White-faced Ibis 58×

Hummingbirds Trochilidae

Allen's Hummingbird +351%Anna's Hummingbird +175%Black-chinned Hummingbird -44%Calliope Hummingbird -89%Costa's Hummingbird +75%

Wrens Troglodytidae

Bewick's Wren +25%Cactus Wren -9%Canyon Wren -32%Marsh Wren +864%Northern House Wren +26%Pacific Wren 15×Rock Wren -11%

Thrushes Turdidae

American Robin +109%Hermit Thrush +156%Mountain Bluebird -86%Swainson's Thrush +29%Townsend's Solitaire -84%Varied Thrush +58%Western Bluebird -3%

Tyrant Flycatchers Tyrannidae

Ash-throated Flycatcher +102%Black Phoebe +346%Cassin's Kingbird +268%Dusky Flycatcher -1%Gray Flycatcher +41%Hammond's Flycatcher +102%Olive-sided Flycatcher -56%Say's Phoebe +102%Western Kingbird +25%Western Wood-Pewee -67%Willow Flycatcher +11%

Barn-Owls Tytonidae

American Barn Owl -52%

Vireos Vireonidae

Bell's Vireo +481%Cassin's Vireo +155%Hutton's Vireo -11%Warbling Vireo +118%

Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22.