This Legendary Waterfall Doubles as One of California’s Rarest Bird Nesting Sites

Most people pull over at McArthur-Burney Falls for the waterfall. The 129-foot cascade in Shasta County is one of the most photographed spots in Northern California, fed entirely by underground springs that push out roughly 100 million gallons of water daily regardless of what the weather is doing above ground. Theodore Roosevelt reportedly called it the eighth wonder of the world.

But the view from the bridge is only part of the story.

Black swifts nest directly in the cliffs at Burney Falls, tucking into cool, dark, damp niches shaded by mist and positioned near or behind the rushing water. McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park is one of the only places in California where you can reliably find nesting black swifts.

Researchers have counted between five and twenty nesting pairs at the falls in a given season. For a bird that spends most of its life in the air and hides its nests in spots that are nearly impossible to access, that kind of concentration is remarkable.

After the breeding season wraps, black swifts leave North America entirely. Scientists still are not certain where most of them spend the winter, though some have been tracked as far south as Brazil.

If you want to see them, summer is your window. The park sits about an hour east of Redding off Highway 299, between Mount Shasta and Lassen Peak. The waterfall alone is worth the drive. Knowing what is hiding in the mist behind it makes it even better.