Seasons in the Sea - Seabird nesting locations and habitats

Nesting locations and habitats for coastal birds
that leave the Central California Coast in spring

The table below lists many of the birds that spend winters on the Central Coast of California, but which leave in spring to nest elsewhere. For each type of bird, this table shows where they are migrating in spring and what kind of nesting habitat they prefer.

Type of bird	Nesting region(s)	Nesting habitat

NEARSHORE SEABIRDS
Surf scoter	Northern Alaska, Canada (USGS 2003)	tundra (USGS 2003)
White-winged scoter	Alaska, Western Canada (NAS 1995)	lakes (NAS 1995)
Black scoter	Western Alaska (NAS 1995 )	coast, boreal forests (NAS 1995)
Western grebe	Great Basin (Birdweb 2002)	sagebrush (Birdweb 2002)
Clark's grebe	Great Basin (Birdweb 2002)	sagebrush (Birdweb 2002)
Horned grebe	Southern Alaska, W. Canada (Henkel 2003)	lakes, marshes (Henkel 2003)
Eared grebe	Western United States, Canada (O'Brien et al 2006)	marshy areas (O'Brien et al 2006)
Pacific loon	Northern Canada, Alaska (NAS 1995)	lakes (NAS 1995)
California gull	Great Basin (NCCOS 2003)	lakes (NCCOS 2003)

ROCKY-COAST SHOREBIRDS
Black turnstone	W to NW Alaska (CDFG 2005)	coastal wetlands (CDFG 2005)
Surfbird	N Alaska, Canada (O'Brien et al 2006)	rocky mountain slopes (O'Brien et al 2006)

SANDY-COAST SHOREBIRDS
Marbled godwit	Montana to Alberta (O'Brien et al 2006)	grassy prairie (O'Brien et al 2006)
Western Willet	Colorado to mid-Canada (O'Brien et al 2006)	marshy areas (O'Brien et al 2006)
Whimbrel	N. Alaska, Canada (O'Brien et al 2006)	coastal and mountain tundra (O'Brien et al 2006)
Sanderling	W to NW Alaska (CDFG 2005)	delta/wetland (CDFG 2005)

COASTAL WETLAND BIRDS
Western sandpiper	Canadian Arctic (CDFG 2005)	delta/wetland (CDFG 2005)
Curlew	Idaho and Montana (O'Brien et al 2006)	high plains (O'Brien et al 2006)