City
San Diego
🇺🇸 United States
North America, United States 531 spp. recorded
San Diego is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, next to the Mexican border. It is the eighth-most populous city in the U.S. San Diego is the county seat of San Diego County. Wikipedia
32.720° N 117.096° W
🦜 Nature
531 Species sighted
1,256,891 Verified sightings From 2019 to 2026
Apr Best month
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
LC
Common Coqui
Eleutherodactylus coqui
📊 Most Spotted
🌙 Most active after dark
Recent sightings in San Diego
LIVEiNaturalistWhere to look
Warmer areas are where all species together are recorded most often.
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San Diego River mudflats (including Robb Field & north side)
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Point La Jolla · seawatch
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Visitor Center/North McCoy Trail
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Lake Murray · southeast side
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Mission Bay · entrance channel (not river mudflats)
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Lake Murray · northwest side
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Bayfront Park (J St.)
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Kendall-Frost Marsh Reserve
Sighting Calendar
How many species you'd see in a day
44Jan
49Feb
47Mar
52Apr
50May
48Jun
51Jul
50Aug
52Sep
51Oct
45Nov
41Dec
🏙️ City
Essentials
Green cover
Low
Protected land
1%
Protected sea
1%
Protected areas
44
areasWildlife spots
12
spotsZoos & centres
4
placesClimate
Hot semi-arid
World Heritage
No
Climate
Temp °C Rain mm
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0.0 Excellent
Wallace's Line Score
How good is this city for seeing wildlife? 🦜
Biodiversity
ExcellentHow rich is the wildlife?
5.0
Species by taxon
🦅 Birds 720
🐒 Mammals 126
🦎 Reptiles 101
🐸 Amphibians 17
964 Total Species
679 Global average across 380 cities
65 Threatened 18 Endemic
🔭
Sighting
GoodHow likely to see animals?
3.6
🎯
Top-12 Avg Probability
58% 📊
Coverage (149 species at ≥5% of 964 in the inventory)
15% 🔀
Taxon variety in top 12 (11 bird, 1 reptile)
20% 🌟
Iconic-group species (≥15%) (every species from the 19 iconic groups — monkeys, cats, toucans, macaws, sloths, crocodilians… — not just the 4 highlighted above)
2 ⭐
High-prob species (>40%)
15 🏕️
Experience
Very goodHow easy and pleasant is the visit?
3.8
Climate Mixed Medium
Green cover Low Low
Protected land & sea 1% land · 1% sea Medium
Protected areas 44 High
Wildlife spots 12 High
Zoos & centres 4 High
What visitors say
Before you go
What animals can you see in San Diego?
531 species
San Diego's urban area has 531 recorded vertebrate species. The ones wildlife watchers report most often on a given day are American Crow (about 80%), House Finch (about 80%), Anna's Hummingbird (about 70%), Black Phoebe (about 70%) and Song Sparrow (about 60%). Among mammals, the most-seen is California Ground Squirrel (about 40%); among reptiles, Western Fence Lizard (about 50%); among amphibians, Pacific chorus frog (about 10%).
When is the best time to see wildlife in San Diego?
October to June
In those months the city's 12 most-seen species average about 60% on a given day, against about 50% in July to September.
Can you see a Western Gull in San Diego?
Yes
About 60% of wildlife watchers report a Western Gull sighting in San Diego on a given day, based on 34,354 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is February and July–August (about 70%).
Can you see an Anna's Hummingbird in San Diego?
Yes
About 70% of wildlife watchers report an Anna's Hummingbird sighting in San Diego on a given day, based on 35,806 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is September to May (about 70%).
Can you see an Allen's Hummingbird in San Diego?
Yes
About 50% of wildlife watchers report an Allen's Hummingbird sighting in San Diego on a given day, based on 24,762 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is December (about 60%).
Where in San Diego is wildlife easiest to see?
San Diego River mudflats (including Robb Field & north side)
The spot where most wildlife watchers record their sightings is San Diego River mudflats (including Robb Field & north side) (224 bird species recorded), followed by Point La Jolla · seawatch and Famosa Slough. See them on the map.
Is San Diego good for wildlife watching?
4.0 out of 5
On the Wallace's Line Score, which rates each city against other cities, San Diego gets 4.0/5: 213th of 380 cities worldwide and 29th in North America. 20 of its species are reported by about 40% or more of wildlife watchers on a given day.
Nearest Cities
Nearest Parks
Nearest Zoos & Centres
Sources: urban area GHSL Urban Centre Database R2024A, European Commission JRC (CC BY 4.0) · protected land WDPA, UNEP-WCMC & IUCN (via GHSL) · climate NASA POWER · wildlife GBIF.org citizen-science data