Self-guided Birding Locations
Lined with tule, cattails, willows, and cottonwoods, Parkway Lakes is a part of the Coyote Creek Parkway located in South County. You will travel south along the Coyote Creek riparian corridor looking and listening for breeding songbirds, water birds, and raptors.
The agricultural fields of the Coyote Valley floor in South San Jose/Morgan Hill are excellent birding for raptors and grassland specialties. A popular stop is Laguna Ave, where with luck you can watch courting Red-tailed Hawks, Golden Eagles, Peregrine Falcons, and more! This trip is best done by car or by bike as it involves scanning long sections of fields along roads.
Ogier Ponds is a quiet, birdy, freshwater haven located in Morgan Hill along the Coyote Creek Trail. It is the perfect spot to visit during fall and winter to look for wintering waterfowl, gulls, and sparrows.
No matter the season, Coyote Valley Open Space Preserve (CVOSP) in Morgan Hill is a great place to discover local favorites or special migrants. In fall and winter, this preserve is a perfect spot to watch for resident and migrating raptors, wintering sparrows, and agricultural-field specialties.
The Wood Road entrance is a quiet, less-trafficked entrance to the expansive Almaden Quicksilver County Park. This short out-and-back trail is wide and mostly shaded by blue oaks, live oaks, madrones, and bay laurels, until you emerge into open chaparral. Come here to enjoy a peaceful morning…
This summer, you will probably find yourself looking for a shady place to enjoy local birds. The Nature Trail at the Anderson Lake/Coyote Creek Visitor Center in Morgan Hill is a favorite of mine to bird year-round, and great in summer for the ample shade along Coyote Creek. Though parts of this route may be narrow, it is a less traveled trail and thus easy to avoid crowds!
