California Fish and Game Code Sections 3503, 3503.5, 3513

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These California Fish and Game Code sections protect all birds, birds of prey, and all nongame birds, as well as their eggs and nests, for species that are not already listed as fully protected and that occur naturally within the state. Sections 3503 and 3503.5 of the CFGC stipulate the following regarding eggs and nests: Section 3503 states that it is unlawful to take, possess, or needlessly destroy the nest or eggs of any bird, except as otherwise provided by California Fish and Game Code or any regulation made pursuant thereto; and Section 3503.5 states that it is unlawful to take, possess, or destroy any birds in the orders Falconiformes or Strigiformes (birds-of-prey) or to take, possess, or destroy the nest or eggs of any such bird except as otherwise provided by CFGC or any regulation adopted pursuant thereto. In 2025, the California Migratory Bird Protection Act was signed into law, prohibiting the unauthorized “take” of any bird species that is covered by the MBTA. Specifically, the law modifies Section 3613 of the CFGC to read “It is unlawful to take or possess any migratory bird as designated in the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. Sec. 703 et seq.) before January 1, 2025, any additional migratory bird that may be designated in that federal act after that date, or any part of a migratory bird described in this section, except as provided by rules and regulations adopted by the United States Secretary of the Interior under that federal act before January 1, 2025, or subsequent rules or regulations adopted pursuant to that federal act, unless those rules or regulations are inconsistent with this code.”

A Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) departs its nest along Elizabeth Lake. Photo by Marcus C. England of England|Ecology.