If there is one piece of gear I regret not bringing on this trail, it was my monocular! At the last minute I decided not to bring it, and I kicked myself for it many times. While I was still able to enjoy birding and see a nice variety of species, there were so many small birds a monocular would have helped me identify. It would have been worth the weight for me. Here are the birds I was able to identify:
Wild Turkey
Turkey Vulture
Spotted Towhee
Canyon Wren
Black-Headed Grosbeak
American Crow
Anna’s Hummingbird
Western Scrub Jay
Western Bluebird
Common Raven
Acorn Woodpecker
Phainopepla
American Robin
Dark-Eyed Junco
Steller’s Jay
White-Breasted Nuthatch
Chipping Sparrow
White-Winged Dove
Mourning Dove
White-Headed Woodpecker
Mountain Chickadee
House Sparrow
Red-Winged Blackbird
Mallard
Great Blue Heron
Clark’s Nutcracker
California Thrasher
California Towhee
Oak Titmouse
Lawrence’s Goldfinch
Bewick’s Wren
Red-Tailed Hawk
House Finch
Northern Mockingbird
California Quail
Western Tanager
Mountain Quail
Black-Capped Chickadee
Sooty Grouse
American White Pelican
Gray Jay
Northern Flicker
Black-Backed Woodpecker
Red-Breasted Nuthatch
Black-Billed Magpie
Green-Tailed Towhee
White-Crowned Sparrow
American Dipper
Pacific Wren
Hairy Woodpecker
Spruce Grouse
Awesome!