Self-guided Birding Locations
Loma Prieta is one of the greatest spots in the county (and California!) to see migration in action. This spot in the Santa Cruz Mountains is a natural funnel for migrants. Few other places match the ability to truly immerse yourself in warblers, hummingbirds, finches, and more. While birding here can be challenging, Loma Prieta is a superb spot and shouldn’t be missed.
Pearson-Arastradero Preserve is located in Palo Alto and is a great place to go birding if you live in Mountain View, Los Altos, Palo Alto, or San Mateo. The park features a range of habitats from grasslands to oak woodland, and a small lake, all of which are home to a wide variety of birds throughout the year. In the spring, many birds arrive from the tropics and make this their home for a few months when they build their nests and raise their young before heading back south in the fall.
At Henry Coe State Park, you are in the wild, among an intact community of native flora and fauna. There are beautiful panoramic views of the hills around Gilroy, reaching to the Santa Cruz Mountains and within this giant of a park you have long vistas of mountain ridges and valleys like Sycamore Canyon and Pine Ridge. In spring, migrant birds are returning and many birds are nesting, so there is always something exciting to find. Abundant, diverse spring wildflowers and their pollinators make for a beautiful and interesting distraction.
If you are not sure if you are a larophobe or a larophile then come along the Adobe Creek Loop Trail between the Palo Alto Flood Control Basin and Charleston Slough in Mountain View and watch the antics of the California Gulls in their colony. We find these noisy birds so fun and hope you do too.
The “Beautiful Mountain” lives up to its name. Located west of Palo Alto, sweeping views and multiple microhabitats make this preserve a visual delight to walk through. Many of our most coveted summer breeding birds are attracted to the richness of this park. Lazuli Bunting is an excellent example of a species that drops in to breed at this location. Sometimes residents such as Pileated Woodpecker can also be seen.
Much has changed since the fire of 2020, but this area remains productive for birding. Drive through grassland, cottonwood riparian, oak savanna, and canyon habitats in Stanislaus County to search for Grasshopper Sparrow, Blue Grosbeak. There is also a chance of Costa’s Hummingbird and Greater Roadrunner. Continue toward San Antonio Valley for Bell’s Sparrow and Lewis’s Woodpecker.
This small section of Santa Teresa County Park, located in San José, offers a variety of habitats including oak woodland, grassland, sage scrub, chaparral, riparian, and freshwater seeps, attracting a larger variety of birds than would a single habitat. My favorite of these birds arrives in the second half of April: the Lazuli Bunting, whose song is a complex series of jumbling notes. I get goosebumps when I hear the first bird of the season singing his song.
Skyline Boulevard runs at the top of the Santa Cruz Mountains. This higher elevation area is home to a variety of birds which are harder to find in other parts of the county. This guide covers 3 stops along Skyline Blvd which can be visited by car and with a minimal amount of walking.
This spring trip south of San José gives great vistas of the South Bay and views as far away as San Francisco and Mt Diablo. Butterflies and bees distract as you try to spot the calling California Thrashers, Wrentits and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. Above, ravens and vultures are joined by hawks and swallows. Trails are alive with wildflowers, insects, and birds and if you're lucky, a Merriam Chipmunk or Western Whiptail among the manzanita.
Hunting Hollow is nature lover’s paradise. Located in the South County east of Morgan Hill, it is a perfect place to bird without the crowds. Even if the parking lot looks full, trail conditions should still be peaceful. The broad trail takes you along a riparian corridor among oak woodlands and meadows, complete with stream crossing and vernal pools. The route covered here ends at a pond that occasionally has Wood Ducks and other surprises.
For great habitat in an urban setting, visit this paved trail along the Los Gatos Creek in San José. It’s the perfect location for spring migrants!
Old Oak Glen Avenue in Morgan Hill is a wonderful place to peacefully look at spring migrants. There is oak woodland on one side of the road, and Llagas Creek along the other. Swainson’s Thrush is often found here, a hard-to-find bird in our area.
Tweet, chirp, chatter, shriek, drum-drum-drum: a cacophony of bird sounds and songs will greet you upon your first step onto the oak and eucalyptus tree-lined paved path to Stanford’s Arizona Garden and Mausoleum. The Stanford campus hosts over 125 bird species, many of which can be spotted in this one small area.
