Santa Clara County
From SiliconValleyBirders
[edit] Santa Clara County Popular Birding Sites
[edit] Palo Alto and Mountain View
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Palo Alto and Mountain View have a number of good birdwatching spots. Both cities have built recreational areas along the bay and have rehabilitated wetlands.
Palo Alto Baylands is a recreational area where the former Palo Alto harbor was closed in 1985. The duck pond is a former salt water swimming pool, now converted for use as a "mallard magnet". Behind the duck pond is a number of palm trees where Snowy and Great egrets, as well as Black-Crowned Night Herons, breed between March and June. Inside Palo Alto Baylands is the Lucy Evans Interpretive Center, used for nature education, and a boardwalk out to a position where you can sea watch the bay. This area also contains a number of marshes and wetlands in various forms of restoration.
To reach Palo Alto Baylands, from 101, take Embarcadero East past the airport. When the road ends in a T, turn left. Park is open from dawn to dusk. If you turn right, you end up at Bixbee Park.
Shoreline at Mountain View is a 700 acre recreation area built on a former landfill. It includes a golf course and an artificial lake that is popular with board surfers -- and birds. There are also 10 miles of trails that include access to the lake, riparian habitat and some of the salt ponds. It is roughly bounded on the south by Steven's Creek and Crittenden Marsh, and on the north by Adobe creek; to the north from Adobe creek you can take trails that take you to Palo Alto Baylands.
You can access Shoreline and Shoreline lake from Shoreline blvd, or you can take 101 to San Antonio, and take it eastward to Terminal Blvd. This area has parking and access points both to Charleston slough and Adobe creek (the northern end of Terminal) and Shoreline Lake (the southern end of terminal).
This is all part of the San Francisco Bay Trail.
[edit] Audubon Wetlands Discovery Program
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The Audubon Wetlands Discovery Program brings kids, parents, and teachers to this location for the very good reason that birds live here. For birds, habitat is everything, and this wetlands area provides a compact but diverse collection of habitats. Fresh water creeks, salt water ponds, dry or wet marshes, small places to hide or large areas in which to seek food--birds find them here, so we find the birds! This map provides directions to here, and around here, both telling and showing what and who we see, or hear, or even smell. After you enjoy the map, be sure to come on out to experience the reality of it all. [Map by Gordon Barrett]
[edit] Stevens Creek Trail & Shoreline Mountain View
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This is that part of Stevens Creek that is channeled by levees through the landfills of Mountain View Shoreline and into the South San Francisco Bay. Long distances that are either hot and shade less or cold and windy, not the best place to be without a bike or lots of determination. Still, with a windbreaker on a warm day, a nice place to see marsh and salt pond habitat and birds up close or using a scope. [Map by Gordon Barrett]
[edit] Stevens Creek Trail
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The trail along Stevens Creek gives access to the stream as it makes its way to the bay. The center area of the creek is overgrown with bushes and trees, and this can be a good place for migrants. Notable finds during 2007 fall migration were a black and white warbler and lincoln's sparrow. You can access this area by parking at the end of La Avenida and hiking to Crittenden and back, about a mile and a half.
[edit] Sunnyvale Water Control Plant
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Also known as the Sewage Treatment plant, but formally as the Donald M. Somers Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP). To get to this location, take 101 to Lawrence Expressway and go north, where it turns into Caribbean. Turn right on Borregas, left on Carl and go through the parking for the plant. Parking is next to the start of the trail. In front of you is a hill that's a former landfill, go over the bridge and turn right to get on the trail that takes you out to the salt ponds and the radar dish. This area is good seasonally for migrants in the rushes along the path; black-crowned and green heron, belted kingfisher, herons and egrets, pied-billed grebe. the area out by the water distribution area is known for "unusual" gulls, with Bonaparte's seasonally, and was where the Franklin's Gull was found.
[edit] Alviso
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These Alviso birding locations are not scenic beauties, but there are birds to see. [Map by Gordon Barrett]
[edit] Stevens Creek County Park Locations
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Both easy and difficult to bird, with parking access to mostly level wooded picnic areas close to water and wheelchair accessible paths and trails, there remains the problem of having to drive from one isolated area to another spread out from Stevens Canyon Rd above the reservoir to the park entrance below the dam along a narrow, winding road with often uncertain pull-outs and entrances to parking lots. This part of the map may never be completed by me, for I don’t have access to every location, but it might prove useful enough by at least placing the accessible places I know. Between the park and the bay, Stevens Creek runs undetected until it pops out again as a narrow channel through land fills and salt ponds before entering the bay. [Map by Gordon Barrett]
[edit] Saratoga Creek & The Saratoga Creek/San Tomas Aquino Creek Trail
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It requires a lot of LSD to see The Saratoga Creek/San Tomas Aquino Creek Trail. It’s not there except in some people’s minds during several decades. There are isolated spots that have been created since 2000. A pretty fancy trail has been built starting at the Bay Trail that currently ends at Scott in Santa Clara. The somewhat long but worthwhile trail tops the levees and ducks under cross streets along a flood controlled creek bed with no trees and no pedestrian access or parking at either end. Cupertino has a short section at Murdock Park along Lawrence Expressway that may be of local use. The rest is invisible to my eyes. [Map by Gordon Barrett]
[edit] Los Gatos Creek, Oka Ponds, and Vasona
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The section of Los Gatos Creek between Los Gatos and Campbell seems to be a healthy riparian habitat utilized by many resident and migratory birds. The Los Gatos Creek Trail itself is a paved bike and walking path along the creek through Vasona Lake Park to the Oka Ponds Wildlife Sanctuary and Los Gatos Creek Park in Campbell. The Great Blue Heron breeds at Lake Vasona, and Oka Ponds attract spring Swallows and winter Ring-necked Ducks, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, and Hooded Mergansers. Between Los Gatos Creek Park and Campbell Park the bike trail continues on both sides of the creek. After Campbell Park the trail moves only to the morning side. [Map by Gordon Barrett]
[edit] Upper Guadalupe River and SCVWD Recharge Ponds
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A 1.4 mile paved bike and walking path travels on the east side of this highly managed river and riparian area. Hundreds of Cliff Swallows built nests on the sides of the Highway 85 overpass, joined by a few Northern Rough-winged Swallows and White-throated Swifts. "The Upper Guadalupe River Trail from Coleman Road to the Hwy 85 overpass can be interesting during migration--unusual migrants drawn to this riparian corridor have included Willow Flycatcher, Northern Parula, Nashville Warbler, MacGillivray's Warbler, Palm Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Chipping Sparrow, and Brewer's Sparrow. Also Yellow Warblers and orioles in the summer, and Hermit Thrush, Fox Sparrow, and Lincoln's Sparrow in the winter.." -- Ann Verdi [Map by Gordon Barrett]
[edit] Lake Almaden and Los Alamitos Creek
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The Los Alamitos Creek Trail is a 4.7 mile paved bike and walking path from Coleman Rd to McKean Rd. Starting at the outflow of Almaden Lake, it hugs the east side of the lake to its inflow and then follows Los Alamitos Creek through a series of oak wood riparian areas that edge the side of the Santa Teresa Mountains. Four species of herons breed at Almaden Lake, including the less common Green Heron. [Map by Gordon Barrett]
[edit] Stile Ranch and Calero Reservoir
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At the top of the Almaden Valley, McKean Rd travels along the west side of the Santa Teresa Mountains to Calero Reservoir and the horse trailer parking lot at the inflow. Golden Eagles have nested here, and Bald Eagles visit during the winter. [Map by Gordon Barrett]
[edit] Coyote Valley and Coyote Creek Parkway
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The Coyote Creek is the longest creek in Santa Clara County, and the Coyote Creek Trail crosses the City of San Jose, but this map focuses on the Coyote Valley and the county portion of The Coyote Creek Parkway. The first inhabitants here were promised often, and again very recently, that the Coyote Valley would “never” be developed. Well, “never” has arrived, so you’d better hurry to see the last of the county’s open, agricultural, riparian habitat with its large stubble fields, working orchards, and pastures. A change in habitat means a change in birds, right? [Map by Gordon Barrett]
