birding sites orange county (1 Viewer)

birding sites orange county

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hi guys, planning a family holiday to visit family in orange county at the middle of septenber 2010
as birding may be limited and i don't drive, does any one no any good birding sites and what key species to look out for cheers jason :t:

were staying in costa messa ca 26262

I found this site while ruminating over a possible San Fransisco jaunt. Never happened but I kept the site link. Hope you have a good time. (And be sure to let us know how it went!)

http://fog.ccsf.cc.ca.us/~jmorlan/ora.htm

James

ebird.com will give you a species list for OC and you can drill down to see where they are reported. Unfortunately lack of transport will be a big issue in OC. There are buses, but they are slow and don't necessarily go very close to where you want to go. Car rentals are an option.

Recommendations:
1. There is a yahoo group for Orange County birding. Join and maybe post your plight. Someone might offer to take you about!
2. The best site in OC is Bolsa Chica - shore and some passerines.
3. A good alternative close to CM is San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary. This place is hot or cold but can be excellent. Will undoubtedly be a good time for someone out of the area.
4. Huntington Central Park - a premier destination for passerines.
5. Laguna Niguel Regional Park - lots of vagrants and rarities but these are usually found by the best in the county.

There are others, but if you want a simple answer, Bolsa Chica.

Matt

I suggest you check with Sea and Sage Audubon

http://www.seaandsageaudubon.org/

Cheers,
Kevin

Hi Jason,
I'm not sure whether you are staying in Eastside Costa Mesa or West. I lived in Eastside CM for years. If you are Eastside, you can walk to one of OC's best birding sites. It is the "Back Bay' or Upper Newport Ecological Reserve. Here is a link for info:

http://www.newportbay.org/bayintro.htm

Here is a bird list:
http://www.newportbay.org/encbirds.htm

If you are physically able to do some miles by bike, you'll be able to get some good birding in. From Costa Mesa you can ride to Pacific Coast Hwy and hang a right. A few miles down you'll reach the Bolsa Chica Wetlands. In my younger days I used to ride that all the time and it was easy. If you want you could turn onto Goldenwest St. before you reached Bolsa Chica and take it till you reach Huntington Beach Central Park on your right ( I don't know how many miles from PCH it is, but it is also flat and easy). The Park is good birding and I always anticipate a surprise.
I'm sure that my husband and I will still be trying to finish our circumnavigation and won't be home or I'd offer to take you to a few places. I am currently here in OC visiting before going back to our sailboat,Peregrine, in two weeks. Yesterday I birded Casper's Regional Park on the Ortega Hwy, another great place to bird in OC.
Hope you have a good time when you get here. Be prepared for heat--Sept.is a warm month.
Sue