Birding
"Hot" Spots -
California's Central Coast
Morro
Bay 2010 Bird Festival Information

for up to date information on birding the Central Coast check out
blog.birdinglady.com
Audubon Overlook - Baywood -
Santa Isabel to North end of 4th
St.
The Overlook is covered and comfortable for birding.
Oct. thru April about 2 hours before a high or a low tide, numerous species
may be seen. Huge flocks of ducks, Brant Geese, and shore birds may be
seen from this location. It is not unusual for a Peregrine to be seen
swooping by chasing an unlucky shorebird.
Cloister's Pond - Morro Bay - Hwy.
101 - Turn
West at San Jacinto
Take first
street on left - goes directly into Cloisters Park. Great-tailed Grackle
arrive in April from a winter's vacation in Mexico. Arriving with the Grackles are female Red-winged Blackbirds. Grackles
are delightfully noisy. Sora, Virginia Rail, Least Bittern, Black-crowned Night Heron, Snowy
& Great Egret, Anna's Hummingbird, Goldfinch, Common Yellow throat, Snow and Ross' Geese, and
seasonal waterfowl. Excellent walking paths lead to beach.
El
Moro Elfin Forest Natural Area, Los Osos.
From So. Bay Blvd. take Santa Ysabel west to 16th, turn north toward bay. A one mile
boardwalk meanders through a 90 acre coastal dune natural area. Two overlooks
afford excellent views of bay & estuary.- - - Year round
residents include Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Song & White-crowned Sparrow, Scrub Jay,
Golden Sparrow, California Quail, Anna's
Hummingbird, California Thrasher, Ca. & Spotted Towhee. Winter migrants,
viewed from the overlooks include, Brant Goose,
American Wigeon, Green & Blue-winged Teal, Avocet, Ruddy Duck, Bufflehead, Scaup, Pintail,
Yellowlegs, Tern, White Pelican, and a variety of shore birds.
Morro Bay St. Pk. Museum of
Nat.
History, Morro Bay
http://www.ccnha.org
Black-crowned Night Heron in
Cypress behind the Museum. Be sure to Look up! Good area for Kingfisher, Brant Geese, White and Brown Pelican,
Egret, Heron, Double-crested Cormorant, migrant ducks, gulls, shore birds, and Osprey.
Beginning in August, shore birds are seen feeding in the mud of Windy Cove. Across from Windy Cove, along the edge of the golf course, look for a flock of Wild Turkey.
Check out the marina and the sandspit. The sandspit trail begins at
east end of marina parking area. Look for spotted Sandpiper which is
frequently seen feeding along the edge of the marina.
Morro Strand State Beach,
Morro Bay
Late Summer and into fall and early winter the Strand Lagoons are
excellent for shore birds. One never knows what they may find. The
lagoons form where the creeks meet the sand. Usual birds on the Strand: Snowy Plover, Long-billed Curlew,
Whimbrel, Willet, Sandpipers, and Turnstones (north end). Birds that
may be seen from the beach (without a scope): Scoter,
Merganser, Pelican, Grebe, Cormorant, Osprey, Western and Clark's Grebe.
Sweet Springs Audubon Nature Preserve
- Ramona Ave., 4th and Pine, Los Osos
http://www.morrocoastaudubon.org/
Year round residents
include, Kingfisher, Common Yellowthroat, Black-crowned Night Heron, Snowy
& Great Egret, Great Blue
Heron, Song Sparrow, Red-shouldered Hawks, Kingfisher, Bewick's Wren,
White-crowned Sparrow, American Goldfinch. Winter migrants include, Brant Goose,
American Wigeon, Green-winged
Teal, Pintail, Scaup, Blue
& Green-winged Teal, Cinnamon Teal, Ruddy Duck, Bufflehead, Pelicans, many species of shore birds,
and a variety of warblers.
For a Bird's Eye
View - Go To -
http://maps.google.com/
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