Top 5 MUST-VISIT Birding Destinations in the United States!
The United States has so many amazing places to go birding that it can be hard to pick the best ones. Luckily, we’ve traveled all over the country to find the top birding spots you won’t want to miss. From rare birds to beautiful views, these five places are perfect for your next birding adventure!
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Roseate Spoonbill in cover image Watts (Public Domain, edited)
Black Oystercatcher in cover image by Ragnhild&Neil Crawford (CC by 2.0, edited)
Green Jay in cover image by Andy Morffew (CC by 2.0, edited)
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Map in cover image adapted from ziggymaj (free for commercial use)
Florida Scrub Jay image by Susan Young (Public Domain)
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0:00 Intro
0:53 Destination #5
3:07 Destination #4
5:17 Destination #3
6:42 Destination #2
9:06 Destination #1
12:00 Closing
All other photos and videos by Derek and Ryan Sallmann
#Birding #BirdWatching #BadgerlandBirding
I’m lucky enough to live in Sacramento. The Delta brings us tons of birds , and our feeders are wonderful for spotting residents and visitors alike.
Those are wonderful birding destinations in the USA.
I love that you made a video about top birding locations – thank you! I can’t help but to notice that all 5 of your locations are on the very perimeter of the country. What about locations that are much more inland, like at least 400 miles from the edge of the country. Could you make a list of top locations in that heartland area? States with areas that would be viable for such a list would be Utah, Nevada, Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, Arkansas, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Missouri.
NotJeff here. Central CA is really big, bigger than many eastern states. We have one Christmas Count circle here on the SF peninsula that regularly approaches 200 species in just one day. I suggest making multiple day trips each targeting a certain habitat in order to see what you can without being exhausted just from traveling around. I guarantee that you will also be distracted by the marine mammals, spectacular spring flowers, arrays of tree species, and all the different kinds of food.
Thank you for this cool top 5! I’ve so enjoyed SE AZ and two birds I’m particularly fond of there (in addition to the others you mentioned) are Canyon Wren, and Buff-Collared Nightjar. Central California — my favorite is the Water Ouzel! — and Rio Grande Valley — listening to the chorus of hundreds of Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks, or being visually blown away by cryptic camouflage on the Common Paraque are highlights, plus Cinnamon Teal. I think of all the destinations you mentioned, SE AZ is my favorite, though I’d REALLY like to spend the month of April on High Island Texas some day ❤
Idaho should’ve been #1 😉
I’ve Birded all 5 of the Hot Spots. Most more than once.
Thanks for the video! Mississippi River Valley is rather good as well with fairly extensive migratory bird species.
Three out of five of these are places I have on a kind of bucket list anyway… I *must* get back to Arizona sometime, not only for the birds and wildlife but for my aunt, heh. And southern Texas is a no brainer, as the Rio Grande Valley is a destination that just MIGHT get my dad to agree to a trip together. California and the northwest have always fascinated me and someday I really want to see Mount St Helens with my own eyeballs (among plenty of other things like those sequioas!). I’d not considered the bog TBH – I’m a little too familiar with wetlands living where I do and I find swamps quite disagreeable, ha! And you’re not getting me into Florida without a crowbar, no matter the time of year it just seems so miserably hot, and I’m far too much a polar bear type for that nonsense.
Seriously: it’s been actually cold here for a week and I’m reveling in it wearing short sleeves while everyone else is moping and complaining about below 50 F! I’m built for the cold I guess, haha – must be the northern German genetics! So maybe the bog in winter would be a lot easier to tolerate. And for Great Gray Owls I’m willing to tolerate a lot!
There is a great spot during late Autumn and into Winter in New Mexico; Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, South of Socorro. In particular there are huge number of Sandhill Cranes, Snow Geese, and in recent years huge flocks of Red-wing Blackbirds. If you’re looking for spectacle this should be on your list.
Don’t forget High Island and Sabine Woods!
i have that same elegant trogon hat!! thats awesome
The Ospreys in Florida blew my mind, unreal. Canadian west coaster here, great list, thanks for sharing. Love your work, professionalism and dedication. Hats off to you two, cheers.
Great! 2 out of 5 done (Rio Grande Valley in April 2012 and Central California in September 2016). I plan to go in South Eastern Arizona in spring 2026 (with a group of french birdwatchers) and Saxon Bog in 2 or 3 winters. Florida is not a priority for me. Congratulations for your videos!
Great list since it exactly matches the first 5 locations I will be hitting this year starting with the bog the first week of January. 😀
I really appreciated that the list went beyond the usual suspects (Magee Marsh, Cape May, etc.) Having birded both in Central California and Southeast Arizona, I can most definitely attest to the amazing diversity of birds spotted there, my big faves being Sandhill Cranes, tons of hummingbirds, Vermilion Flycatcher, and Pyrrhuloxia! The Texas and Florida spots have been on my list for a while! Thanks for this list!
As a Californian, I’m a little jaded on CA birding. Even though the birding here can be great, I wouldn’t have included Central Cal on your list. In fact, I was a bit shocked that you didn’t include Magee Marsh, OH. Going there in the month of May is borderline magical, truly a must visit location.
Awesome video 🙂 I live in Sacramento CA (which is technically closer to the middle of the state, but we all call it Nor Cal 🙂 My two favorite places to visit (multiple times) is SE AZ, and South Texas. Yes, the Rio Grande Valley is awesome, and South Padre Island was my first big cross country birding trip, so it will forever hold a place in my heart 🙂 But a little ways up around the Gulf to High Island TX is fantastic too, as is 40 miles inland in the Big Thicket area. I’d SO love to see the birds at Sax-Zim Bog….. but I’m a wimp with cold, and I just don’t think it would be a good place for car camping, which is the only way I can afford to bird across the country 🙁 Might have to pick "most" of those species off one at a time, in more hospitable times and places…. or even a few early, and later, at Sax-Zim Bog. I guess the Great Gray’s are still doable earlier and later. I can do 30’s and 40’s… but that’s about my limit.
Great list! I’m so happy that my home region, Central California, made number five!! It so often gets overlooked! Having birded in SE Arizona & the Rio Grande Valley, I agree that they’re at the top of the list in terms of unique species & birder-friendly spaces. They’re amazing! But while Central California seems to have less of a birding scene overall, it’s also a much larger area to cover than the LRGV or Sax-Zim & birding hotspots are a lot more spread out. And yeah – I’m often the only birder around, lol.
As someone who lives 20 min from Sax Zim, it’s one of my favorite places to go out and explore!
Love the Trogon hat! Did you get that in Portal or Madera? Great video. Hope to do Rio Grande some day.
I’ve been to 4 of your 5 recommended hotspots and agree with them. Hope you can check out the mid-Atlantic area which is quite birdy. Chincoteague NP (VA), Bombay Hook and Delaware Bay (DE), Cape May (NJ), C&O Canal (Montgomery County MD) and environs are excellent for shore birds and woodland species as well as spring/fall migrations. Love following you around as you bird our beautiful, diverse country.
As a Brazilian I watch this video and dream of having our country with a proper birding ecotourism industry. We have soo much potential.
I want to get down to South Florida in the winter for a trip one year. My additions would be Green Bay and coastal Lake Michigan all around it. (I’m sure you know about that). Also Ocracoke Island or the outer banks in general especially in the wintering time frame. Nice video sir!
great video ! we’re planing a trip to Rio Grande TX ! Cheers
These are very cool destinations for sure, especially if you are going for diversity. I lived in North Dakota, and the sheer amount of water fowl that migrate through the state was incredible to behold. Even living in the city, you’d see flocks of birds in v-formation all throughout the season. For my biology course, we’d hike out to a protected state park and just camp in the reeds with binoculars – the windy days helped with mosquitos and so did bug spray – but it was just fascinating watching immense flocks of ducks, geese, shorebirds, gulls, etc. Hawks would actively hunt around, the different species with their different behaviors all just making a pitstop or perhaps breeding, … just point your binoculars and you’d be watching your very own wildlife special.
This is a solid top 5 list, I don’t think I’d change anything. If anyone’s looking for a #6, my pick would be the New England area in winter. It’s great for sea ducks and alcids and pretty reliable for some European vagrants as well.
Arizona is awesome birding spot where the elusive Roadrunner roams.
Not including the pacific northwest is wild
There are too many young youtubers talking as if they have a long lifetime experience !
Great list! As an extension to the Rio grande valley, I’d give a shout out to the big bend area further west on the Texas Mexico Border. The combination of the Chisos Mountains, Chihuahuan Desert, and Rio grande allows for a huge variety of birds. It’s also the only place in the US to see the Colima Warbler.
Oregon and Washington have an amazing diversity of birds
Good Morning to you, from HONG KONG 🇭🇰 SAR. The Tri-coloured Blackbird and the California Scrub are just two of the many bird species found on the western parts of the United States 🇺🇸
All of central Texas from the Red River south to the border is in the central migration zone and is great for birding in the spring and fall.
Thank you for the great recommendations! Loved SE Arizona.
Put the wrong title on at 4:17! Should be Black-backed Woodpecker again!
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Your map left off Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Which also includes great birding hotspots like the Rudyard area and Whitefish Point, which had a Burrowing Owl this fall.
A Central California birder here. What you didn’t mention were the huge numbers of migrating waterfowl from November to April. The Central Valley is along the Pacific Coast Flyway
Woooop Texas!! Hoping one day I can make the drive and enjoy the incredible biodiversity there.
Michigan’s a great spot
I have that exact same Trogan hat lol, I bought it in Madera Canyon
I enjoy when others share their opinions about their favorite birding destinations so this really hits. Thank you!
Yo isn’t 4:17 a Black-backed Woodpecker?
Oh Derek you did a fantastic job here I love it , you put everything into perspective especially Arizona and Texas those are my 2 favorite places to go no question about it .
South Florida is an awesome place, but you can’t forget about the rest of the state. You have birding hotspots such as Merrit Island NWR, Lake Apopka, St Marks NWR, Paynes Prairie Preserve, Celery Fields, Honeymoon Island SP, and of course Fort DeSoto.
Alright Alright Alright
🙏🙏🙏🙌🙌🙌👍👍👍👍
Love the RGV !!!❤❤❤
Great video! Nice to see Sax Zim Bog — I only recently found out about it. Nice to see it’s one of the best. Thank you!
Can’t believe you left off the south New Jersey coast, Brigantine to Cape May. Both sites are considered two of the best individual birding sites in the country. Brigantine being the premier shorebirding spot and Cape May being the premier Hawk Watching site.
Absolutely great! Fun to know
Thanks for sharing
I was at Sax Zim in the Spring. The bog is like a whole different world and I feel lucky to have spent time there. I was on an ornithology field trip for college and needless to say, we got to see a lot of really cool birds. I’ve never seen so many species of sparrows in one place.