Good places in San Diego for bird photography?

Tom Callahan wrote:
I'm pertty much a newbie to photography, but taking photos of birds seems
great and good timing as SD is close to me and so is the opportunity in
January. My Question is this. I'm going to need to rent a lens. I have a
Digital Rebel 300d and a Rebel Ti, (probably be using the 300d the most).
What should I rent? Keep in mind the digital has a 1.6x magnification on
all lenses. Should I go Prime or is a zoom whats needed in the field? Is
The 200mm f2.8 has good reviews and I was thinking of purchasing that one,
but is it going to be enough? what is the minimum to really get some good
shots. Would the 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 lens be too slow? is Image
stableization helpful? Your experience and expertese will be helpful.
Thanks.

If you simply want this to a be a learning experience, I'd go with the
100-400mm (it has IS and with the 1.6x factor it's a good focal length)
It's a cheap lens to rent ($35 for a weekend at Samy's) Just set it to a
higher ISO if it's too slow (remember you're learning here).

Once you're comfortable you can get a 300mm f2.8 (with extenders) or
the 500mm f4 ($55 and $100 respectively)

Zeyd