We couldn't help but notice this great overview of winter birding opportunities in Northern California written by Janet Fullwood:

If December's constant diet of shopping, eating, shopping, football and shopping puts you in a Scroogey kind of mood, maybe it's time for a breath of fresh air. In Northern California, December is the season not just for consumer frenzy, but for epic wildlife shows. The midwinter phenomenon of winged migration is in full feather at refuges around the region, and by all accounts, the avian action is some of the most impressive in the nation.