Birding At the Site

Head to the parking area at the south end of the lake to start. Travel north on its east side, looking for wrens, song sparrows, and Green Heron in the cattails. Teal, coots, and Common Merganser can occasionally be found during winter. Mallard, Common Gallinule, Great Egret, and Great Blue Heron can be found year-round. Watch for Belted Kingfisher, also. You can continue to the northeast and check out the young oaks in this corner of the park, then head west and south to the west side of the lake. You can also cross the bridge near the north end of the lake (a good overall view of the lake) and head south through these young oaks. Look for warblers, woodpeckers, scrub-jays, bushtits, and sparrows as you go. (Watch out for frisbee golf players!)

As you cross the road, head slightly east toward the baseball diamonds, looking for Killdeer year-round and swallow species overhead in spring and summer. Continue east to the museum parking lot. Lots of pine trees native to the hills and mountains of the Sierra have been planted here and attract Golden-crowned Kinglet, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and Pine Siskin in winter, especially in irruptive years. Both Red-breasted and Red-naped Sapsuckers (rare) have been seen here.

Next head southwest to the Japanese Garden, following the fence to the south and around to the entrance. The garden has limited hours. In winter and spring, there are beautiful camellias and azaleas blooming that enhance your search for rare White-throated Sparrow amongst the flocks of Golden- and White-crowned sparrows foraging on the ground, and elusive Varied Thrush in the trees. During migration, look for an assortment of warblers. Yellow, Wilson’s, Townsend’s, and Black-throated Gray are all possible. Great Horned Owls have nested here as well.

From here, head south across the park to the zoo, watching for resident Acorn and Nuttall’s Woodpecker and White-breasted Nuthatch. You may notice several acorn-ridden granary oaks in this area. Along the western edge of the zoo parking lot, California Towhee and Lesser Goldfinch make winter appearances. In the zoo itself, there are several areas of heavy plantings that provide cover for Spotted Towhee, Bushtit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, House Wren, and on occasion, Bewick’s and Pacific wrens. Sapsuckers have also been seen around the zoo, and in spring and summer, Western Tanager and Bullock’s Oriole make appearances. Hooded Oriole and even Barn Owl have attempted nesting in the fan palms in the lemur exhibit at the center of the zoo.

Leaving the zoo, head east, cross the bridge over Pixley Slough, and then follow it south (watch your step) and west into the stand of oaks on the south side of the zoo. Along this area of the slough, look for Song, Fox, and Lincoln’s sparrows and wrens in winter; Common Yellowthroat in spring and summer, with Belted Kingfisher showing up sporadically throughout the year. During migration, watch the trees for warblers, flycatchers, and Lazuli Bunting (rare).

To the south of this area are the Micke Grove Golf Links. (Two ponds are viewable from the fence line.) It is possible to see Least Sandpiper, Black-necked Stilt, Greater Yellowlegs, and Great and Snowy egrets at the pond edges, and coots, Green-winged Teal, Common Goldeneye, and Pied-billed Grebe on the ponds in winter. American Avocet, Semipalmated Plover, and other shorebirds show up during migration, and Mallard and Killdeer are present year-round. Several other ponds are accessible only if you golf.

Heading northeast, passed the amusement rides on your left, and you shortly come to the Rose Garden. Take a few minutes to enjoy the flowers, if your visit is between spring and fall. In the open areas like this, be sure to check the skies overhead as several species that don’t actually enter the park do pass over it. These include White-throated Swift, American White Pelican, assorted raptors, geese, swans, and cranes in season.

Continue north from the Rose Garden, cross the slough again, watching for egrets, herons, and juncos. Keep watching for the park’s resident birds and migrant visitors as you walk through the oaks, making your way past the museum and west back to the parking area on the south end of the park’s lake.