Summer

Yuba Pass and Sierra Valley (Summer): Birding the mid-Sierra

Yuba Pass and Sierra Valley (Summer): Birding the mid-Sierra

The Bay Area is blessed not only with some of the finest and most diverse Bayfront, oak savanna, coniferous woodland and farmland habitats, but also easy access to both the coast to our west and Sierra Nevada to the east. A modest drive from our county brings birders to the beautiful mountain landscape and its characteristic mix of species. The itinerary describes birding stops ranging from alpine Yuba Pass (7000’) which hosts Williamson’s Sapsuckers, Mountain Quail and Clark’s Nutcrackers to the subalpine Sierra Valley (4800’) home to Sage Thrasher, Brewer’s Sparrows and Yellow-headed Blackbirds.

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Shannon Valley Open Space Preserve (Year-round)

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Shannon Valley Open Space Preserve (Year-round)

Shannon Valley in Los Gatos is just that - the valley at the bottom of steep Blossom Hill where the hill meets the Guadalupe Creek corridor. The preserve offers a variety of habitats from woodlands and willow groves to meadows and a stream-side trail. Birding is good at any time of year, but especially in the springtime when Lazuli Buntings are seen among the yellow mustard flowers on the hillside with Orange-crowned Warblers calling nearby.


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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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Los Alamitos Creek Trail (Spring/Summer)

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Los Alamitos Creek Trail (Spring/Summer)

Enjoy this easy, partially shaded walk alongside the Los Alamitos Creek in Almaden Valley. Bird life is plentiful and varied, especially in the spring! Or visit in the summer to take advantage of the shady trails.

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Guadalupe Creek off Guadalupe Mines Road (Year-round)

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Guadalupe Creek off Guadalupe Mines Road (Year-round)

Enjoy some interesting birding on this short half-mile easy-paced paved loop in a quiet San José neighborhood. Those of us who have birded this area for many years have discovered a mix of montane, riparian and lowland birds throughout the seasons including migrants and occasionally an unusual vagrant.

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Los Gatos Creek Trail South of Main (Year-round): American Dippers

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Los Gatos Creek Trail South of Main (Year-round): American Dippers

Visit the Los Gatos Creek Trail south of East Main Street in Los Gatos to find the American Dipper, America’s only aquatic songbird. Watch these birds walk, wade, swim and even dive in and out of the water as they hunt for food.


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Villa Montalvo (Spring/Summer): Formal Gardens in the Redwoods

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Villa Montalvo (Spring/Summer): Formal Gardens in the Redwoods

In the mood to get off the rugged trails and try something different? Visit the beautiful grounds of this Saratoga park. Meander the formal gardens of the villa while enjoying the various art installations and the birds.

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Alum Rock Park (Summer): Creekside Birding

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Alum Rock Park (Summer): Creekside Birding

Penitencia Creek Trail in east San José is a beautiful, shaded creek side trail with easy level walking where wildlife and birds abound. While it can be crowded after 10 a.m. on weekends, early mornings offer solitude and silence and increase the chance for wildlife and bird encounters. Deer (and their fawns) are especially common, and bobcats, snakes, and other creatures are sometimes seen. The creek hosts numerous Steelhead Trout, and in the past may have supported Coho Salmon.

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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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Palo Alto Flood Control Basin (Spring/Summer): A Noisy California Gull Colony

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Palo Alto Flood Control Basin (Spring/Summer): A Noisy California Gull Colony

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.

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Palo Alto Baylands (Spring/Summer): Swallow Central and Pond Loop Trail

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Palo Alto Baylands (Spring/Summer): Swallow Central and Pond Loop Trail

Just as the Ohlone people greeted the sun each morning at dawn for hundreds of years, so the swallows begin their daily swooping flights over the ponds, creeks, sloughs, and marshes of the Palo Alto Baylands. Though late spring and summer is thought of as a "quieter" time for birds, at the Palo Alto Baylands there continues to be a variety of avian species that are fascinating, interesting and entertaining to observe and enjoy.

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Live Oak Group Area in Anderson County Park (Year-Round):  Picnic with the Wood Ducks

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Live Oak Group Area in Anderson County Park (Year-Round):  Picnic with the Wood Ducks

Picnic at the shady Live Oak Group Area near the Anderson Lake County Park Visitor Center in Morgan Hill and get a chance to view Wood Ducks in Coyote Creek.

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Área para grupos de Live Oak, en Anderson County Park (todo el año): Picnic con los Patos Arcoiris (Wood Ducks)

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Área para grupos de Live Oak, en Anderson County Park (todo el año): Picnic con los Patos Arcoiris (Wood Ducks)

Disfrute de esta área de picnic con sombra en Morgan Hill y tenga la oportunidad de ver Patos Arcoiris (Wood Ducks) en Coyote Creek.

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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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Kelley Park (Year-Round): Birding in Downtown San Jose

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Kelley Park (Year-Round): Birding in Downtown San Jose

Staying in downtown San José and hoping to fit in some birding during a packed convention schedule? Check out Kelley Park! Only two miles from the downtown area with creekside trails and a nearby Japanese Garden, the birding is rewarding year-round.

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Parque Kelley:  Observación de aves en el centro de San José

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Parque Kelley:  Observación de aves en el centro de San José

¿Se hospeda en el centro de San José y espera poder observar aves durante un programa de convenciones repleto? ¡Echa un vistazo a Kelley Park! A solo dos millas del centro de la ciudad con senderos junto al arroyo y un jardín japonés cercano, la observación de aves es gratificante durante todo el año.

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Pond A16 (Summer): Terns and Black Skimmers

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Pond A16 (Summer): Terns and Black Skimmers

Summer is a fun time to visit Pond A16 at Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Alviso. Noisy and active terns and skimmers have arrived to nest on the man-made islands in the salt pond. Come back often to see the birds in different breeding stages, from courtship to nesting to feeding their young.

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Anderson Lake County Park (Summer): Coyote Creek Nature Trail

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Anderson Lake County Park (Summer): Coyote Creek Nature Trail

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!

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Pond A2E and Crittenden Marsh (Summer): Totally Terns and Snowy Plovers Too

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Pond A2E and Crittenden Marsh (Summer): Totally Terns and Snowy Plovers Too

Summer is the time to visit Salt Pond A2E in Mountain View. You will have an opportunity to spot up to 6 species of terns plus the Snowy Plovers that are “next door” in Crittenden Marsh (Stevens Creek Nature Study Area). While the parking lot can be crowded at times on the weekends, once you are out on the trails, the crowds disperse.

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Palo Alto Baylands (Summer): Emily Renzel Wetlands

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Palo Alto Baylands (Summer): Emily Renzel Wetlands

Emily Renzel Ponds in Palo Alto is a small but delightful birding spot just east of US-101, about halfway between Charleston Slough and Palo Alto Baylands. It consists of two freshwater ponds and can be birded easily in an hour or so.

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