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American White Pelican by Blake Burke
Field Trip: 1-Hour Beginner Bird Walk at Lake Cunningham Regional Park (East San Jose)
Join us for a relaxing beginner bird walk along the water at Lake Cunningham Regional Park, a renowned and beautiful South Bay birding hotspot. This short, slow-paced, low-mileage trip is perfect for anyone would like to learn about and practice identifying local bird species. Families with kids of any ages welcome! There will be a small number of loaner binoculars available.
Site highlights include Lake Cunningham’s remarkable avian diversity, plentiful parking (with ADA spots), maximum 0.5 mile round trip from the parking lot, fully paved path (consistently 6-10 feet wide), built-in seating, restrooms, and no significant elevation changes. This field trip was designed by an independently ambulatory SCVBA volunteer who requires trails of little to no elevation changes and typically takes a sitting break on a collapsible stool every 0.1-0.2 mile.
We’re excited to see some year-round residents (ex: Western Grebe, Double-Crested Cormorant, Great-Tailed Grackle), some delightful seasonal visitors (ex: American White Pelican, White-Crowned Sparrows), and plenty more. Hope to see you there!
Trip Difficulty: 0.5 mile, paved trails, little or no elevation gain, little to no shade
Other Trip Notes: Parking is flat fee $6 per vehicle. Feel free to BYOS (bring-your-own-seating) to take bonus breaks along the path. Please refer to the attached PDF for many more details (ex: visual photo guide of the planned route, type of built-in seating, restroom location, ADA parking spots, considerations for those who might be birding from a seated position).
Leaders: SM
Additional Languages: English will be the primary language of this field trip, but other languages spoken by our trip leaders include Spanish and Tamil.
Family Friendly All Ages, 1 mile or shorter, 2 hours or less, No elevation gain, Beginner Friendly, Loaner Binoculars Available
Meet: Parking Lot A
Directions: The lake’s general address is 2305 South White Road, San Jose. From US-101, take the East Capitol Expressway exit. Continue for 1.5 miles then turn right on Quimby Road. Continue for 0.75 mile then turn left onto South White Road. Continue for 1 mile then turn left onto the unlabeled traffic signal (large “Lake Cunningham Park” sign visible at this entrance). If you enter the park from this South White Road entrance, continue along the traffic circle and exit the circle to your left (9 o’clock position from where the traffic circle started on South White Road). Proceed along the road until you see the signs on your right for Parking Lot A. If you instead enter the park from Tully Road, turn right at the first stop sign and proceed along the road until you see signs on your left for Parking Lot A (just past the Skate Park). Lat/Long: 37.337451, -121.804069
Facilities: bathroom, cell phone service
Parking Type and Fees: paved parking lot, ADA compliant spots, parking fees
Questions? Email general questions to fieldtrips@scvbirdalliance.org or contact the trip leader for questions regarding the event.