Top 20 Most Common Bird in Morro Bay
Morro Bay is a glittering gem when it comes to avian life with its unique habitats serving as home to a thrilling variety of bird species. Exquisite ecological features such as its estuary and salt marshes nurture an extraordinary diversity, with iconic species such as the Red-tailed Hawk and charming Anna's Hummingbird among the 20 common species making this area their abode. This is just the tip of the aviary iceberg in Morro Bay.
Most Common Bird
1. Turkey Vulture
The turkey Vulture is a common sight, especially around roads, where they keep a sharp eye out for roadkill. Seeing these large birds in the sky can often make you take a second look to see if it’s an eagle or a hawk. Here’s one quick way to tell the difference. When in flight, a turkey Vulture will circle unsteadily, with its wings lifted to make a V shape. Though they are not appreciated, they do the dirty work of the animal kingdom by cleaning up the countryside as they scavenge.
2. House Finch
Frequent in urban environments and human-created habitats such as parks and backyards, the little house Finch is known for its loud but pleasant, cheerful singing. It feeds on the ground, mostly on seeds, berries, and other plant material. This bird is highly sociable and very adaptable. It often visits feeders.
3. White-crowned Sparrow
This common sparrow has a white crown atop its head, which gave it its name, as well as a neat pattern down its wings and a long tail. Some groups of white-crowned Sparrows migrate, while others remain in coastal habitats year-round. Across different groups of these birds are different song “dialects” which are widely studied.
4. Anna's Hummingbird
This hardy bird is a common sight along the Pacific Coast, with a bright, vibrant coloring that is anything but common. Look for their emerald feathers and soft pink throats, which gives them the appearance of a flying jewel. Anna's Hummingbird is more vocal than other hummingbirds, with a buzzy song you may hear from the males when they are perched.
5. Black Phoebe
Often spotted near creeks and ponds after you hear its sharp, whistling call, the small, plump black Phoebe is a sooty gray. Look for its white belly and squared tail to properly identify it. When perched, it wags its tail constantly. This bird feeds by taking short, quick flights to skim the water’s surface and snag an insect.
6. California Towhee
This california Towhee looks basically like a larger sparrow, sharing the beak designed for seed cracking, the long tail, and the short, round wings. Their longer tail and shorter wings, however, give them a less graceful look while they’re in flight. This bird is unique in its uniform, matte brown coloring across the entire body.
7. California Scrub-jay
California Scrub-jays prefer to live in dry shrublands, oak forests, and treed backyards. These are mischievous little birds that like to steal acorns from Woodpecker hiding spots. However, when the scrub jays hide the acorns in a new spot they rarely remember where they've hidden them! It's a lose-lose situation. When not stealing acorns they like to spend time eating ticks and other parasites off the backs of mule deer. The deer seem to appreciate the attention and often hold up their ears to give the jays access.
8. American Crow
The american Crow is a big black bird that can be found in forests, fields, river groves, and among human habitations. Interestingly, it is known to stand atop ant hills and allow ants to climb onto its feathers; this apparently discharges their formic acid and makes them more palatable for the crow to eat. Sadly, american Crow numbers have been substantially affected by the West Nile virus in North America. Infected birds die from West Nile in less than a week.
9. Western Gull
The western Gull's dark back feathers and its large size set it apart from other gulls. It is a voracious feeder, eating fish, carrion, and invertebrates. It forages for food along shorelines and in the ocean. The bird is even known to take milk from female seals while they are sleeping.
10. Red-tailed Hawk
Perched high in trees, the red-tailed Hawk watches for its prey: mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians, large insects, and occasionally fish. It's the most common hawk in North America. Highly territorial and monogamous, the red-tailed Hawk is relatively long-lived. Many of them die young, but those who survive can live up to 20 years.
11. Mallard
The mallard is the most abundant duck species in the world, and the ancestor of all domestic ducks. Only the female can produce the distinctive "quack" sound. When the female lays eggs, the male abandons its mate, while the protective mother stays with the ducklings for a long time. This migratory species inhabits shallow waters and it's one of the most popular game birds.
12. Great Blue Heron
The great Blue Heron, the largest such bird in North America, is quite adaptable and thrives in various wet habitats. Silent, patient, and often motionless, this majestic bird always makes a spectacular sight. Thanks to its specially shaped neck and extremely good night vision, this wading bird is a quick and skilled fish predator. Since the great Blue Heron accumulates toxins in its body, researchers use it as an indicator of dangerous contaminants in local wetlands.
13. Lesser Goldfinch
A common visitor of birdhouses or anywhere with birdseed, the lesser Goldfinch is a small, notch-tailed bird that enjoys gardens and open wooded areas. Its size has made it commonly overlooked, but listen out for its charming, chiming song. Social birds, they are often seen in large groups of hundreds traveling together at a time.
14. Yellow-rumped Warbler
The foraging yellow-rumped Warbler is quick-moving and appealingly colored. Both male and female are a sharp gray, with white on their wings and flashes of yellow on their rump (as the name suggests), sides, and face. Most striking about this bird is the large groups of them that spread across North America in the autumn season.
15. Mourning Dove
One of the most famous and widespread doves of North America, the mourning Dove can be often seen in urban areas perching on telephone wires. It is named after its distinctive, plaintive-sounding song. It is also a popular game bird, but its population is still abundant thanks to the prolific breeding and its ability to raise up to five to six broods in a single year.
16. Nuttall's Woodpecker
Nuttall's woodpecker has black wings and tail feathers with white barring. On the ventral surface, colour is white with black spots and barring. It has a black forehead with white streaks on the sides and an unbarred black region at the top of the back. Adult males have a distinguishable red crown which females do not. However, this physical feature is present in the juvenile of both sexes. They have zygodactyl feet and stiff tail feathers which allows them to maintain a vertical position on trees; typical of woodpeckers. The mass of the Nuttall's woodpecker ranges from 30 to 45 g (1.1 to 1.6 oz), with a body length of 16 to 18 cm (6.3 to 7.1 in). 
17. Spotted Towhee
The spotted Towhee is a large sparrow found in sunny, open forests and recognizable by its distinctive two-footed hop. A ground dweller, it scratches the ground in search of food. Regarded as an extremely vocal bird, its song varies according to geographical location. During the breeding season, the male spends more than 70% of its mornings singing, trying to attract the female.
18. Great Egret
These tall birds are quite distinctive with their bright white feathers, black legs, and orange beaks. Great Egrets live near both fresh and saltwater, nesting high in trees to protect their eggs from predatory mammals. They are colonial nesters, living in large groups (colonies), and they find the majority of their food in the nearest body of water.
19. Double-crested Cormorant
This large, dinosaur-like bird is the most common form of cormorant. A frequent visitor to bodies of fresh water, look out for double-crested Cormorants at the water's edge when they “wing-spread”. They will stand with their wings opened wide and tilted towards the sun to dry their feathers, because they are not waterproof.
20. European Starling
The european Starling, a large, hardy songbird, is one of the most commonly seen bird species in North America. Originally from Europe, this species was brought to the U.S. in the 1890s by enthusiasts of William Shakespeare, who had the unique goal of bringing over every single species of bird that was mentioned in Shakespeare's collective works. Unfortunately, the european Starling, being an adaptable, generalist species, spread invasively across the continent, hurting many native species' populations in the process.
