Birds in Wrightwood, California

Wrightwood, California, is a small community located in the San Gabriel Mountains in Southern California. It has an elevation of about 6,000 feet and is home to outdoor activities such as camping, fishing, hiking and skiing. The mountainous landscape and forests have made it a well-traveled area for bird watching and a good place to spot a diverse range of bird species.

  1. Mountain Chickadee

    • The mountain chickadee makes its home in the forests around Wrightwood, using the trees for shelter and to feed. They eat small insects and pine cone seeds, often hanging upside down to pluck their prey. Mountain chickadees are around 4 to 6 inches in length with black and white striped heads as well as a narrow tail. They are a social species of bird and often found socializing with nuthatches and kinglet birds. Mountain chickadees have a distinct bird call, which sounds like their name.

    White-Breasted Nuthatch

    • The white-breasted nuthatch is around 5 to 6 inches long and is an agile hunter. It gets its name from its habit of whacking foraged nuts against tree trunks to open them. They have a persistent, nasal and yammering bird call, which makes them easy to locate in the wild. White-breasted nuthatches seek shelter and rely on a diet of insects and plant seeds. Characterized by a pointed bill suited for pecking food out of tight spaces, the white-breasted nuthatch can also be identified by their gray-blue color on their backs as well as white coloring on their face and underbelly.

    Western Bluebird

    • Often found in the open forests in Wrightwood, the western bluebird is a medium-sized songbird about 6 to 8 inches long. With a round body, large head and blue-brown color, the western bluebird is easily distinguished from other thrush species. The western bluebird survives on fruit, small insects and plant seeds. Using tree perches, this bird pounces on its prey from above and sometimes incapacitates large insects before eating by beating them against the ground.

    California Towhee

    • California towhees are around 8 to 9 inches long and relatively round in shape. They have a distinct high-pitched chirp and are closely related to the canyon and brown towhee. Preferring the dense shrubs and foothills of Wrightwood, the California towhee feeds on beetles, grasshoppers, berries, acorns, fruits, plant and herb seeds. According to All About Birds, the oldest recorded California towhee was 12 years old.

    Oak Titmouse

    • Living in dense foliage, the oak titmouse is around 4 inches long and has brown-gray coloring and a small tuft of feathers on its head. The oak titmouse feeds on terrestrial insects and plant seeds, sometimes hammering the seeds against tree trunks to open them. Using a high-pitched fluttering chirp, the oak titmouse can often be seen hanging upside down from branches.