A migrant trap close to the bayfront, Charleston Road Marsh is worth visiting for a chance to find fall migrants dropping in, seek out songbirds spending the winter skulking in the shrubs, or enjoy some colorful spring travelers on their way back north. Peaceful and rarely very crowded, this marsh is an underappreciated and under-birded gem with great potential for bringing in migrants common and rare.

Fueled by water from the nearby water pollution control plant, Sunnyvale Baylands Park is a freshwater oasis for waterfowl and shorebirds (mostly in winter) and upland birds (year-round). Lovely, level walks throughout the park make for a pleasant stroll any time of year. This guide covers a one-mile loop around the park, hitting all the varied habitats and birds found throughout the year.

Along the bayfront in Mountain View, Shoreline Lake offers close-range views of waterbirds like Surf Scoters and Eared Grebes, occasional less-common species such as Horned Grebe and Barrow’s Goldeneye, and the ever-present possibility of finding an ocean-going rarity. Ducks are most numerous in winter, while in early spring, the spectacle of breeding Black Skimmers and Forster’s Terns returns to the lake.

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.

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.

The San Francisco Bay is a critical habitat in spring, both as a migratory stopover and as breeding grounds for many birds. Birding at the Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge Environmental Education Center (EEC) in Alviso allows close views of the extraordinary species diversity that makes use of this habitat, all in a short distance on flat ground.

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.

Birdwatching in the Palo Alto Baylands is excellent year-round but especially nice September through April when a large number of shorebirds are present. Plus, this is the best location in Santa Clara County to spot the endangered Ridgway’s Rail.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Visit the quiet Rosendin Park in the rolling hills of Morgan Hill for a wide variety of birds, the seasonal pond, sweeping views and the wildflowers!

Joseph D. Grant County Park is a large, uncrowded park in the east foothills of San José. It features a variety of habitats, wide trails, and easy access to parking.

During spring along the Stile Ranch Trail, located in Almaden Valley, you’ll find species of birds that aren’t widely found in other areas of Santa Clara County such as Horned Lark and Grasshopper Sparrow, as well as a variety of wildflowers. As you ascend the trail up the south-facing hill you’ll get great views of the hills of Santa Teresa, Almaden Valley, and of Mount Umunhum and the Santa Cruz Mountains.

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.

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.

In the heart of Garlic-growing Gilroy, this jewel of a park has some really top-notch, natural river habitat for both birds and kids to enjoy. The oak-bay woodland on the park’s namesake, Christmas Hill provides plenty of places to explore steep trails with older kids, but even very young children can enjoy the birds on the lawn and in the trees at the playground area. The combination of well-maintained city park and immediately-adjacent wildlife habitat makes this park perfect for a family outing… but the restrooms are CLOSED ON SUNDAYS.

En el corazón de la zona de cultivo de ajos de Gilroy, esta joya de parque tiene un hábitat natural de ribera de primer calibre a lo largo del arroyo de Uvas Creek para que lo disfruten tanto los niños como los pájaros. El bosque de robles de la bahía en el homónimo del parque, Christmas Hill, ofrece muchos lugares para explorar, senderos empinados con niños de mayor edad, pero incluso los niños más pequeños pueden disfrutar de las aves en el césped y en los árboles en el área de juegos. Todos, jóvenes y mayores, humanos o vida silvestre, se sienten atraídos por la belleza de un río natural. La combinación de un parque de la ciudad bien mantenido y un hábitat de vida silvestre inmediatamente adyacente hace que este parque sea perfecto para una excursión familiar… pero los baños están CERRADOS LOS DOMINGOS.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

This is a delightful little park located in a quiet neighborhood adjacent to open space. Packed with many species, it a wonderful place to relax and bird when you have limited time. In the springtime be on the lookout for breeding activities including nest building and the raising of young. Practice your birding by ear as bird song fills the air. While the lawn may be occupied by people having a picnic or a quick volleyball game, the paved trail is never crowded.

Sitting adjacent to an avian flyway (the Guadalupe River), surrounded by suburban sprawl, and boasting the last remnant forest in the city of Santa Clara, Ulistac holds its own as a spring migrant trap. Enjoy the smell of native plants and trees in the restored areas of the park and witness the gradual process of forest regeneration.

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!

In the heart of Garlic-growing Gilroy, this jewel of a park has some really top-notch, natural river habitat for both birds and kids to enjoy. The oak-bay woodland on the park’s namesake, Christmas Hill provides plenty of places to explore steep trails with older kids, but even very young children can enjoy the birds on the lawn and in the trees at the playground area. The combination of well-maintained city park and immediately-adjacent wildlife habitat makes this park perfect for a family outing… but the restrooms are CLOSED ON SUNDAYS.

En el corazón de la zona de cultivo de ajos de Gilroy, esta joya de parque tiene un hábitat natural de ribera de primer calibre a lo largo del arroyo de Uvas Creek para que lo disfruten tanto los niños como los pájaros. El bosque de robles de la bahía en el homónimo del parque, Christmas Hill, ofrece muchos lugares para explorar, senderos empinados con niños de mayor edad, pero incluso los niños más pequeños pueden disfrutar de las aves en el césped y en los árboles en el área de juegos. Todos, jóvenes y mayores, humanos o vida silvestre, se sienten atraídos por la belleza de un río natural. La combinación de un parque de la ciudad bien mantenido y un hábitat de vida silvestre inmediatamente adyacente hace que este parque sea perfecto para una excursión familiar… pero los baños están CERRADOS LOS DOMINGOS.

Springtime at the Stanford Dish Trail, part of the Stanford University campus, offers a mix of wintering grassland birds, hunting raptors, and singing spring migrants. Though often rather busy, this 3.6-mile loop is popular for good reason: sweeping views, rolling hills, a pleasant patchwork of woodland and pastureland, and—of course—a multitude of birds!

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.

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.

Spring has sprung at Guadalupe Oak Grove Park, an urban park in the Almaden Valley area of San Jose. The grasses are green, the oak trees are leafing out and the birds are active! On this trip, learn about the native oak trees of Santa Clara Valley and observe a variety of oak tree-loving birds.

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.

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.

¿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.

During the spring and summer months, swifts and swallows decorate these ponds, which are located near Almaden Lake in San José. It is a great location to bird on the weekends because it is relatively quiet and uncrowded compared with better known parks nearby.

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.

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.

The John Nicholas Trail in the hills of Los Gatos is a fairly flat, wide trail belonging to Upper Sanborn County Park. It is surrounded by native forest, including oak, redwood, fir and pine which provide a nice cover to be enjoyed year-round. This is one of the best places in Santa Clara County for a chance at seeing Pileated Woodpecker or Pacific Wren. In the spring, it’s a great place to find mountain birds returning from the tropics to nest in the area.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

The Wood Road entrance is a quiet, less-trafficked entrance to the expansive Almaden Quicksilver County Park. This short out-and-back trail is wide and mostly shaded by blue oaks, live oaks, madrones, and bay laurels, until you emerge into open chaparral. Come here to enjoy a peaceful morning…