Whether you are someone who just loves looking at birds or an expert looking to track down specialty birds of the western mountains, Y explore Yosemite Adventures can create a custom birding package to match your needs. Your guide on these remarkable tours will be David Lukas, co-author of the forthcoming “Field Guide to Sierra Nevada Birds” and a local bird expert with 15 years experience leading bird tours in the Sierra Nevada. Please note that each excursion requires a minimum of two participants.

One of the real joys of birding in the Yosemite region is the ready access to an incredible diversity of habitats, from valley grassland and oak woodlands on the west slope, to alpine peaks at the crest, and Great Basin desert habitats on the east slope. Each zone has a unique subset of birds, making it possible to target a single habitat, or do a whirlwind tour across all the habitats, and see completely different birds with each option. 

Our custom birding tours fall into two broad categories: Specialty Tours that focus on target birds or habitats with long stops at each site, and Transect Tours that will introduce you to a full range of Yosemite habitats with shorter stops at each site. These tours will also vary dramatically in response to the shifting seasons and bird populations, with the goal of taking you to the most productive and interesting sites on an almost week-by-week basis.

Note: Tours during winter season (November to March) will focus on highly productive low-elevation habitats around El Portal, with excursions into Yosemite Valley and Foresta when snow conditions allow. This is a fantastic season to savor the rich mix of resident birds and winter visitors that gather on the sun-warmed slopes of the Merced River Canyon to eat insects and berries. Expect to see huge flocks of American Robins, plus Western Bluebirds, Townsend’s Solitaires, and Cedar Waxwings, passing overhead. While at close range we will see wrentits, woodpeckers, quail, jays, nuthatches, chickadees, sparrows, and more. Although you don’t start seeing colorful spring migrants until April, this is a surprisingly beautiful and interesting season. It is David’s favorite habitat and favorite time of year to be birding in the Sierra Nevada.