Inland Lakes and Ponds

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Joseph D. Grant Park (Winter): Grant Lake to McCreery Lake

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Joseph D. Grant Park (Winter): Grant Lake to McCreery Lake

Within the east San Jose foothills lies Joseph D. Grant Park, Santa Clara county’s largest park.  Included in this park are over 50 miles of walking trails and an impressive variety of bird species at  any time of the year. In the winter months two excellent stopping points within Joseph D. Grant Park  are Grant Lake and the more secluded, adjacent McCreery Lake. Just past the main park entrance on  Mt. Hamilton Rd. (Hwy. 130), they are easily accessible and provide a wide variety of waterfowl and  shorebirds in the peaceful oak woodland hills. Within this same area you will also encounter many  raptors, woodpeckers, and songbirds. 

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Los Gatos Creek County Park and Oka Ponds (Winter)

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Los Gatos Creek County Park and Oka Ponds (Winter)

Waterfowl and gulls are the main menu here in winter and you will find many! Located in Campbell, this park includes six percolation ponds to explore. It is flat, excellent for walking (as well as for bikes and strollers), and it is partially accessible for people with mobility issues.

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Chesbro Reservoir (Winter): A Serene Setting for Raptors and Waterfowl

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Chesbro Reservoir (Winter): A Serene Setting for Raptors and Waterfowl

Wintertime is an especially wonderful season to spend in the lush green Bay Area foothills, as well as enjoying the wintering birds. Chesbro Reservoir provides a location where you can do both. It’s a peaceful, less-crowded location where you can just stop and exhale. An excellent spot to view both a variety of waterfowl and raptors, there are also small shorebirds, woodpeckers, and brush inhabitants. Chesbro Reservoir is located 3 miles west of Morgan Hill.

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Ed Levin Spring Valley Area (Spring): Hummingbirds at the “Magic Tree"

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Ed Levin Spring Valley Area (Spring): Hummingbirds at the “Magic Tree"

The Spring Valley Area at Ed Levin Park on the east side of San Jose in the Diablo Foothills offers one of the best places in Santa Clara County to observe migratory hummingbirds in spring. Enjoy an easy walk around the Spring Valley Pond and spend some time at the “Magic Tree” watching the hummingbirds come and go, or take the more challenging Spring Valley Trail for a walk in the grassy hills and surrounding woodlands.

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Coyote Lake (Winter): A Winter Stop for Waterfowl and Much More

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Coyote Lake (Winter): A Winter Stop for Waterfowl and Much More

Whether you want a relaxing lakeside drive with easy bird watching, or a vigorous hike through the rolling hills, Coyote Lake in Gilroy is a prime attraction for birdwatchers. Beautiful scenery is the backdrop to lots of overwintering waterfowl and wild animals like deer, wild boar, Wild Turkey and California Quail that are habituated to people. Come for the Bald Eagles and courting Western and Clark’s Grebes and you will find so much more.

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South County Regional Wastewater Authority, Gilroy (Winter): An Oasis For Wintering Ducks, Shorebirds and Raptors

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South County Regional Wastewater Authority, Gilroy (Winter): An Oasis For Wintering Ducks, Shorebirds and Raptors

Explore this oasis in Gilroy! The levees along settling ponds with varying amounts of water and vegetation attract ducks, shorebirds, raptors and more. This site is never crowded and has no hills, just level dirt roads, easy for walking and driving.

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Stevens Creek County Park (Fall/Winter): The Early Bird Catches the Worm, Acorn, and Toyon Berry!

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Stevens Creek County Park (Fall/Winter): The Early Bird Catches the Worm, Acorn, and Toyon Berry!

If Stevens Creek County Park were to have a bird mascot, it would have to be the Acorn Woodpecker. Like the first peoples who inhabited these foothills, the Ohlone, the Acorn Woodpecker makes good use of the plentiful acorns from the Coast Live Oaks. Along with the Acorn Woodpecker, the fall and winter seasons bring even more bird species to be discovered in this Cupertino hills park.


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Hellyer County Park (Winter): Take a Gander at these Geese!

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Hellyer County Park (Winter): Take a Gander at these Geese!

The highlight of this urban San Jose park is scouring through the hundreds of Canada Geese that cover the lake and lawn areas in hopes of finding a Cackling, Greater White-fronted or even a Snow or Ross’s Goose. Start this trip in the late morning after the geese have flown in.

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Penitencia Creek Trail (Fall/Winter): Percolation Ponds and Creekside Birding

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Penitencia Creek Trail (Fall/Winter): Percolation Ponds and Creekside Birding

A small, uncrowded place in East San Jose, jam-packed with waterfowl in the winter and offering great photo opportunities of ducks, herons, and shorebirds. The trails are made from gravel and offer easy, level walking, and there is plenty of sun during the colder months. The mix of creekside and pond habitat can result in a large number of species observed, especially in the winter and when water levels are favorable.

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Foothills Nature Preserve in Palo Alto (Year-round)

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Foothills Nature Preserve in Palo Alto (Year-round)

A lake for winter ducks and summer swallows, a panoramic vista for soaring hawks and cruising vultures, redwoods and oaks for woodpeckers, juncos, and bluebirds, and chaparral for towhees, wrens and jays! Foothills Nature Preserve in Palo Alto, newly opened to the public, has it all, all year round for everyone!


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Stevens Creek County Park (Spring/Summer): A Morning Drive-and-Bird

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Stevens Creek County Park (Spring/Summer): A Morning Drive-and-Bird

Just a short hop off Highway 280 in Cupertino brings you to this, our very first Santa Clara County park. Drive through lower Stevens Creek Canyon, stopping to bird at parking spots and picnic areas. Shady creeksides, a reservoir to scan, and oak and chaparral hillsides are alive with resident and migrant birds. The secret to finding them is to come early to beat the heat and crowds. And don’t forget your picnic lunch!

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Calero Reservoir (Late Spring): Families of Western and Clark’s Grebes with Chicks

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Calero Reservoir (Late Spring): Families of Western and Clark’s Grebes with Chicks

May to June, Western and Clark’s Grebes are taking care of their downy young. You can see babies on their parents’ backs as well as juveniles on their own in the water near their parents. Calero Reservoir in San José south of Almaden Valley can be a fairly easy place to watch them.

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Calero Reservoir (Late Winter/Early Spring): Dancing Western and Clark’s Grebes

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Calero Reservoir (Late Winter/Early Spring): Dancing Western and Clark’s Grebes

January through March, Western and Clark’s Grebes are performing their spectacular courtship displays. Calero Reservoir in San José south of Almaden Valley can be a fairly easy place to watch them.

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Almaden Lake Park (Spring): Nesting Birds and “What is a Species?”

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Almaden Lake Park (Spring): Nesting Birds and “What is a Species?”

If you’re looking for youth-centered birding in Almaden Valley, Lake Almaden offers close views of Mallards, Canada Geese, and many other waterbirds. In Spring, the heron colony on the Bird Sanctuary Island provides excitement and the stroller-friendly path and playgrounds make this destination easy to explore with the whole family.

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Parkway Lakes and the Coyote Creek Trail in South San Jose (Spring/Summer)

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Parkway Lakes and the Coyote Creek Trail in South San Jose (Spring/Summer)

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.


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McClellan Groundwater Recharge Ponds (Winter): Mergansers! Buffleheads! Ring-necked Ducks!

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McClellan Groundwater Recharge Ponds (Winter): Mergansers! Buffleheads! Ring-necked Ducks!

The McClellan Groundwater Recharge Pond (also known as Bubb Road Percolation Pond) in Cupertino is a treasure of a spot in the winter months, full of migrating winter ducks that especially prefer ponds. Think Mergansers! Buffleheads! and Ring-necked Ducks!

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Merced NWR (Winter): A Crane and Waterfowl Wonderland!

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Merced NWR (Winter): A Crane and Waterfowl Wonderland!

For a location full of visual and aural extremes, visit Merced NWR where you can see and hear Sandhill Cranes rattling loudly and dancing together or enormous swirling clouds of thousands of Snow and Ross’s Geese. There are decidedly few experiences more life-affirming than a winter trip to this Central Valley location!

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Lake Cunningham Park (Winter): Wintering Waterfowl and Gulls

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Lake Cunningham Park (Winter): Wintering Waterfowl and Gulls

Are you looking for a place to go birding in San Jose during the winter? Look no further! Lake Cunningham Park in East San Jose’s Alum Rock neighborhood is a winter waterfowl oasis with gulls galore.

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Ogier Ponds (Winter): Birding by Bike or Walk-in

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Ogier Ponds (Winter): Birding by Bike or Walk-in

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.

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Los Capitancillos Ponds (Winter): Going on a Snipe Hunt

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Los Capitancillos Ponds (Winter): Going on a Snipe Hunt

Wilson’s Snipe really do exist and Los Capitancillos Ponds in San José is my favorite place to hunt for them. Besides finding the elusive snipe, visit these ponds in the winter for ducks, geese, and gulls. The wide gravel travel is uncrowded making it easy to social distance.

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