Some of the finest birding in the United States can be found at Point Reyes National Seashore Park. The park offers 70,000 acres of harbor habitat for birds and has incredible bird diversity, with over 490 different avian species spotted in the park and adjacent waters. See if you can spot a snowy plover on the beach or seabird in the water!

Catch a glimpse of rare serpentine grassland and a diverse set of birds at Ring Mountain Open Space Preserve, where on a clear day hikers are rewarded with a magnificent 360-degree view of San Francisco Bay. Located on the Tiburon Peninsula, the preserve is a biodiversity hotspot which connects plants and wildlife to other open spaces in the region. TNC helped protect this important site from development and saved its rarest species: the Tiburon mariposa lily, found nowhere else on earth.

On a single winter day, observers tracked 58,000 birds at the Cosumnes River Preserve. Among those in flight & on the ground were many threatened greater sandhill cranes, which unfurled their enormous gray wings & added to the chorus of native and migratory birds with their ancient and distinctive bassoon-like cry. In 1984, TNC purchased 85 acres of old-growth riparian forest approximately 20 miles south of Sacramento. Today, the Cosumnes River Preserve is cooperatively managed by ten partners.

The Elkhorn Slough is a magical place full of wildlife and beauty. Find lesser yellowlegs, least sandpipers, widgeon and phalarope through the meandering seven miles of coastline in the center of the picturesque Monterey Bay. Elkhorn Slough harbors the largest tract of tidal salt marsh in California outside of San Francisco Bay.  Estuaries—areas where fresh water meets salt water—are among the most productive habitats in the biological world, able to support many animal species.

Part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA), the Marin Headlands is one of the most visited sites in the national park system- filled with incredible biodiversity. More than 13 million visitors a year make the pilgrimage to the headlands, while 3 million cars a month traverse the Golden Gate Bridge. The land is rich with plants and animals found nowhere else. In fact, the GGNRA contains more endangered species than any other national park in the continental U.S.