Palo Alto Baylands (Fall through Early Spring):
Shorebirds along the Duck Pond Loop Trail and “Rail Alley”
by Eve Meier and Unice Chang
Birdwatching in the Palo Alto Baylands is excellent year-round but especially nice August through April when a large number of shorebirds are present. Plus, this is the best location in Santa Clara County to spot the Ridgway’s Rail.
Trip Covers: August - April
Key Birds: Ridgway’s Rail, Semipalmated Plover, Whimbrel, Lesser Yellowlegs, Peregrine Falcon
How to Bird
Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve includes a duck pond, 15 miles of trails with plenty of benches, the Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center, the Environmental Volunteers’ EcoCenter, and a sailing station. Habitats include creeks, sloughs, and large areas of freshwater and saltwater marshland.
Ridgway’s Rail. Luis Villablanca
This trip covers the area around the interpretive center, including “Rail Alley” where you can catch a glimpse of the endangered Ridgway’s Rail, and the Duck Pond Loop Trail where, at mid to low tide, you will have views of the mudflats. It is wheelchair-accessible with plenty of room for everyone to spread out and practice social distancing.
Boardwalk Trail: After arriving in the area, park in the lot across the street from the temporarily closed Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center (see driving directions below). As you walk to the interpretive center, Harriet Mundy Marsh will be on your right and the lagoon will be on your left. The boardwalk starts behind the center.
Before heading down the boardwalk, scan Harriet Mundy Marsh for Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs (a smaller, daintier version of Greater Yellowlegs), Black-necked Stilts and Least Sandpipers. Next to the center, there is a small pond in the marsh in which Snowy and Great Egrets tend to congregate. You’ll have more views of both areas from the boardwalk.
Small pond next to the interpretive center. Eve Meier
As you walk along the boardwalk or rest on its benches, scan the pickleweed for Marsh Wrens, Common Yellowthroats, Savannah Sparrows and Song Sparrows. Don’t forget to look up to see Northern Harriers flying low, weaving back and forth over the marsh. A Peregrine Falcon is sometimes perched on one of the power towers or can be seen soaring at great heights before tucking into a high speed dive to hunt its prey.
Hunting Peregrine Falcon by Suresh Thirumalai.
Peregrine Falcon coming in for the kill. Suresh Thirumalai.
Peregrine Falcon with Green-winged Teal. Suresh Thirumalai
A little over halfway along the boardwalk, you will pass over “Rail Alley”, a channel through the pickleweed. When the tide is out, spend some time here waiting for the Ridgway’s Rail to quietly appear along the edges of the pickleweed. Next, head to the end of the boardwalk and enjoy the expansive views of the mudflats at the edge of the bay.
View of “Rail Alley” from the Boardwalk Trail. Eve Meier
Duck Pond Loop Trail: After finishing the area around the nature center, head to the Duck Pond. It’s a short walk or you can drive and park in either of the two small parking lots, one on each side of the pond. Starting from either parking lot, take the 0.7 mile trail that circles the duck pond.
The highlight of this trail is not the duck pond but the mudflats of the adjacent lagoon that will be teeming with shorebirds. Each summer, millions of arctic breeding shorebirds leave their northern nesting grounds and make their way south towards their wintering grounds. Many of these birds winter in Santa Clara County, others simply pass through on their way further south. If you are visiting in late summer and early fall, most of the arriving birds will be adults, in their worn and faded non-breeding plumage. Juveniles, in their bright and crisp plumage, turn up a little later than the adults. By spring, when most of the shorebirds are getting ready to return to their breeding grounds, they will already be transitioning to their breeding plumage and will be easier to identify.
Exposed mudflats of the slough along Duck Pond Loop Trail. Eve Meier
Because most shorebirds are grayish brown above and white below, it takes a while to become familiar with them. Here are three tips to help get you started. First, get close and Palo Alto Baylands is our favorite location for getting close. Second, learn a couple of the easy to identify birds such as American Avocets, Black-necked Stilts and Killdeer. You can compare the sizes of these birds with the sizes of the shorebirds you can’t yet identify. Third, note the bill size and shape and the foraging style of the bird rather than focusing on the plumages. For more resources on shorebird identification, see the “More Information” section below.
Now’s your time to practice! As you walk along the mudflats, look for Black-necked Stilts, with their long pink legs, and American Avocets, with their upturned bills. Both of these species have stayed with us all year round and are easy to identify. These long-legged, large shorebirds are now joined by other large waders such as the Long-billed Curlews, Marbled Godwits, Whimbrels and Willets. Each of these birds have very different bill lengths and shapes so, with some practice, you should be able to pick them out in a flock.
American Avocets, Marbled Godwits and a couple of dowitchers. Martha Sharpe Menestrina
Besides the larger shorebirds mentioned above, both Long-billed and Short-billed Dowitchers are here too. Dowitchers are medium sized sandpipers that move their heads straight up and down while probing the mud, the motion is similar to a sewing machine. Dunlin, another medium sized sandpiper, is similar in size to a dowitcher, but has a shorter and pointier droopy bill. Even smaller are the Western and Least Sandpipers. These two birds, often referred to as “peeps” and can be hard to tell apart for the beginning birder.
American Avocets, Marbled Godwits, and Short-billed Dowitchers in spring. Diane McCoy
In addition to the sandpipers, Avocets and Stilts mentioned above, two members of the plover family can also be found on the mud flats: the ubiquitous Killdeer and the Semipalmated Plover. The Semipalmated Plover is smaller than the Killdeer with a single breast band and a short stubby bill.
After you’ve had your fill of the shorebirds, rest on one of the benches next to the duck pond and enjoy the Rock Pigeons pecking around for food. Take this opportunity to notice the gulls. Ring-billed Gulls and California Gulls are often present in and around the pond. They are very comfortable around people so this is a good time to study their field marks. You may also find Pied-billed Grebes, Mallards and Double-crested Cormorants swimming in the pond.
Ready for More? San Francisquito Creek Trail, which runs in front of the nature center and alongside the Palo Alto Airport, is the perfect place to see wintering ducks. Or visit Emily Renzel Ponds, also within the Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve.
Interactive Map
Directions: From US-101 in Palo Alto take Embarcadero Rd east towards the bay. Pass the airport and turn left at the T-intersection. Continue for 0.5 miles passing the duck pond. Just over the bridge, the interpretive center (2775 Embarcadero Rd) will be on your left and the paved parking area will be on your right. Latitude/Longitude: 37.458949, -122.105212
Parking: Paved parking lots
Fees: None
Park Hours: 8:00 a.m. until a specific time based on sunset.
Facilities: One ADA-compliant porta-potty with two ADA parking spots near the sailing dock, one porta-potty at the duck pond. Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center also has bathrooms but it is currently closed due to the pandemic. Nearby Byxbee Park has an ADA-accessible bathroom but only one accessible parking spot which fills up early.
Trail Conditions and Mileage:
Boardwalk Trail: 0.2 miles; wood boardwalk with several benches for resting; ramp up to boardwalk; full sun
Duck Pond Loop Trail: 0.7 miles; easy, flat terrain; crushed oyster shell and decomposed granite trail tread; no obstacles; full sun. This trail is marked on the interactive map below.
Accessibility: There’s a short gravel ramp (5.7% slope) in front of the Lucy Environment Education Center.
Bikes: Allowed (except on Boardwalk)
Dogs: Allowed on 6ft leash
More Information
Palo Alto Baylands Trail Map and Birding Hotspots Map
Palo Alto Baylands Website
NOAA Tide Chart
eBird Hotspots: Palo Alto Baylands and Duck Pond
eBird Illustrated Checklist Palo Alto Baylands for photos of the birds seen in the area in August and September.
BirdGuy with SCVAS Executive Director Matthew Dodder Video 16: Water Spinners and Mud Pipers
Pacific Flyway Shorebird Survey Shorebird Identification PDF - very informative including photos, field marks, and relative sizes.
Bay Nature magazine Winged Arrival to learn more about shorebird migration.
More Resources
For more trips like this one, visit Self-guided Field Trips.
Visit the SCVAS Birding Resources page for more information on where to bird, our birding community, birding identification resources, and more.
Read “What to Look for Now” by SCVAS Executive Director Matthew Dodder.
Banner Photo Credit: Ridgway’s Rail by Tom Grey
Last Updated: 03/23/2022
Enjoyed this Trip?
Support the work of Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society and become a member. To contact the trip writer with comments, questions or location updates, please email fieldtrips@scvas.org. You can also post in the comment section below. (If you’d like to post anonymously, type your comment, select “Post Comment”, then simply provide a name, like “Guest”, and select “Comment as Guest”.)