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Green Heron by Peter Shen

Field Trip: Los Capitancillos Ponds (San Jose)

The Los Capitancillos percolation ponds, located between the Cambrian and Almaden Valley areas of San Jose, are a great birding location for wintering ducks. We’ll spend the morning scanning the ponds for American Wigeons, Ring-necked Ducks, Buffleheads, Gadwalls, and Ruddy Ducks. If the gulls are around, we should be able to pick out some Iceland and Glaucous-winged from the Herring and California Gulls. And, we will check out the pond edges for Wilson’s Snipe, Killdeer and Spotted Sandpiper.

Trip Difficulty: 2-3 miles, gravel trails, packed-dirt trails, little or no elevation gain, little to no shade

Leaders: Karen Rush (650) 669-9250

Additional Languages: English will be the primary language of this field trip, but other languages spoken by our trip leaders include German.

Family Friendly Ages 4 and up

Meet: trail entrance on Singletree Way in San Jose

Directions: From CA-85 in San Jose, exit Camden Ave. Drive south about 1 mile. After crossing over Blossom Hill Rd and just past the school, turn left onto Singletree Wy. The trailhead is on your right in 0.2 miles (after the PG&E substation). Street parking. GPS: 37.234266, -121.899898

Facilities: No toilets, cell phone service

Parking Type and Fees: street parking, no fees

Questions? Email general questions to fieldtrips@scvbirdalliance.org or contact the trip leader for questions regarding the event.