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Valley Water Headquarters (Fall/Winter/Spring): Urban Birding in San Jose

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Valley Water Headquarters (Fall/Winter/Spring): Urban Birding in San Jose

The drought tolerant gardens of the Valley Water Headquarters (previously known as Santa Clara Valley Water District) off Almaden Expressway have become one of our “go to” spots when we are looking for a quiet place to bird in the Almaden Valley area. The one-mile, maintained trail through the gardens and around the large percolation pond is little used by people, has several benches along the route, and has plenty of suitable habitat for birds and other wildlife. This compact location is easy to get to making it an ideal and quick birding location.

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Raynor Park in Sunnyvale (Winter): Let’s Find Birds… and DINOSAURS!!

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Raynor Park in Sunnyvale (Winter): Let’s Find Birds… and DINOSAURS!!

Getting young kids excited about birding is easy, when you can show the link between normal playground/park birds and their ancient dinosaur cousins! This neighborhood park in the heart of Sunnyvale’s suburbia has everything to recommend it for a family outing to explore birding with the youngest. Just over a mile of flat, stroller-friendly sidewalks, adjacent farm fields & orchard, and two dinosaur-themed playgrounds make this destination a winner.

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Sunnyvale Water Pollution Control Plant (Fall/Winter): Ducks for Days

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Sunnyvale Water Pollution Control Plant (Fall/Winter): Ducks for Days

You wouldn’t think that sewage treatment would be a travel-worthy destination, but Sunnyvale Water Pollution Control Plant’s large variety of waterfowl and passerines is well worth a trip. Whether you’re looking for a 100-yard stroll from the car or a 4-mile hike, this spot provides excellent views of a large variety of bird species, all in a beautiful bay-front environment.

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Coyote Valley (Late Winter/Early Spring): Love & Raptors in the Air

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Coyote Valley (Late Winter/Early Spring): Love & Raptors in the Air

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.

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Panoche Valley (Winter): A Desolate Paradise

Panoche Valley (Winter): A Desolate Paradise

There’s no winter birding experience quite like the dry rolling ranch lands and deserted flat earth of Panoche Valley. This trip nearly guarantees to provide the brave-hearted with world-class views of Ferruginous Hawk, Greater Roadrunner, Prairie Falcon, and Mountain Bluebird. It’s a magical, barren place!

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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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Coyote Creek Trail at the Silver Creek Staging Area (Winter)

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Coyote Creek Trail at the Silver Creek Staging Area (Winter)

This winter take a leisurely stroll along the paved and flat Coyote Creek Trail in San José. Be on the lookout for Wood Duck in the creek, Hermit Thrush in the understory, and Townsend’s Warbler in the treetops.

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Mission City Memorial Park (Fall/Winter)

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Mission City Memorial Park (Fall/Winter)

Historic Mission City Memorial Park in Santa Clara offers mature redwoods and oaks, hedges of privet trees, and grassy areas. It is the final resting place of many local residents including some early immigrants to the area. As a City Park, it’s well-maintained and local residents enjoy walking the grounds.

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Pond A4 (Winter/Early Spring): A Wintertime South Bay Birding Sampler

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Pond A4 (Winter/Early Spring): A Wintertime South Bay Birding Sampler

Walk or bike around Pond A4 in Sunnyvale for a broad birding sample of southern San Francisco Bay in winter. Diving ducks blanket the pond, terns and pelicans fly overhead, marsh birds lurk in the surrounding channels, raptors perch on utility towers, and—as a reminder of the human footprint on the landscape—crows and blackbirds scavenge around the adjacent landfill.

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Alta Mesa Memorial Park (Fall/Winter)

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Alta Mesa Memorial Park (Fall/Winter)

Alta Mesa Memorial Park, the only cemetery in Palo Alto, was founded in 1904. Its 72 acres feature open grassy areas, but also mature oak trees, hedgerow with privet and redwoods, a border formed by Adobe Creek, and some contemplation gardens with many California native plants.

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Martial Cottle Park (Winter): The Valley of Heart's Delight

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Martial Cottle Park (Winter): The Valley of Heart's Delight

Enjoy your visit to this vintage farm in the middle of suburban sprawl in South San Jose, a throw-back to the days when Santa Clara Valley was known as “The Valley of the Heart’s Delight” long before it became known as “Silicon Valley”.

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Christmas Hill & Debell Uvas Creek Preserve (Winter): South County Riparian Ramble

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Christmas Hill & Debell Uvas Creek Preserve (Winter): South County Riparian Ramble

This string of Gilroy parklands is good for getting up close to our wintering riparian and oak woodland birds, making it especially good for beginning or intermediate birders. The parks are popular but the best birding areas do not get much traffic. Public riparian areas are hard to find in the south county but this one is a fairly long stretch that is easy to access.

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Palo Alto Baylands (Winter): Charleston Slough and Adobe Creek

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Palo Alto Baylands (Winter): Charleston Slough and Adobe Creek

Watching shorebirds and water birds up close is fun at Charleston Slough and Adobe Creek. On a short or long walk you can take the time to study their behaviors and laugh at their antics: coots swim-chase each other, egrets dash after one another with plumes flying, dabbling ducks tip over with their tail feathers in the air…

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Palo Alto Baylands (Winter): Emily Renzel Wetlands

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Palo Alto Baylands (Winter): Emily Renzel Wetlands

Welcome back to Emily Renzel Wetlands. It's changed a bit since we last visited it in summer, but it remains delightful, and is home to many ducks and other waterfowl. It consists of two freshwater ponds which can be birded easily in an hour and a half. Located midway between Charleston Slough and Palo Alto Baylands, it combines well (by car) with either of them.

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San Tomás Aquino Creek Trail (Winter): Birds, 49ers, and Great America

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San Tomás Aquino Creek Trail (Winter): Birds, 49ers, and Great America

When I worked in the City of Santa Clara, I would take lunchtime bird walks along the portion of San Tomás Aquino Creek Trail that runs between US-101, Great American and Levi’s Stadium. Now I walk the trail to see the wintering Wilson’s Snipes and a nice variety of birds. This unglamorous trail offers flat walking, glimpses of nature, and some fun birds amid the office parks and neighborhoods, and often yields over 30 species in a 1-mile outing.

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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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Rancho San Vicente (Fall/Winter): Rockin’ the Rock Wren

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Rancho San Vicente (Fall/Winter): Rockin’ the Rock Wren

This fall and winter, visit the grassy hillsides of the Rancho San Vicente entrance to Calero County Park in San José. Enjoy the wide open skies and beautiful views while looking for raptors and Rock Wrens.

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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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Calero Creek Trail (Fall/Winter)

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Calero Creek Trail (Fall/Winter)

Looking for an easy, flat walk that encompasses a variety of birding habitats? The Calero Creek Trail at the end of San Jose’s Almaden Valley encompasses an old orchard, riparian areas, chaparral hillside and suburban plantings that attract a wide variety of smaller perching birds and raptors.

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