🚀 go-pugleaf

I'm not sure about Santa Clara, but here in Sacramento CA
yellow-billed magpies are quite common.  We see them almost every day.
I think you'll need a car, but you might try the Palo Alto Baylands
Preserve, for one.  Also San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge
can be quite interesting.  Good luck...  George Turner

On Sun, 10 Oct 1999 22:36:33 +0200, Sjaak Schilperoort
<sjaak@xs4all.nl> wrote:

> Any good coastal sites? Can I rely on
>public transport (guess not)? Can I hire a bicycle or should I rent a car?
>
>I have spent a 3 weeks vacation in California, but that was july,
>10 years ago. I did see most of the common summer birds, but missed
>the yellow-billed magpie, I would like to see that one. My special
>interests are bird migration (also sea birds) and wetland birds.
>
>Thanks for all info!!
>
>Sjaak Schilperoort (the Netherlands)

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Sjaak Schilperoort wrote:
>
> Upcoming week I'm going to Santa Clara, CA, for a one and a half week course.
> So next weekend I have two days available to do some birdwatching (and I'm
> looking forward to it!). Where should I spent that time? Any could places
> near Santa Clara I should visit? Any good coastal sites? Can I rely on
> public transport (guess not)? Can I hire a bicycle or should I rent a car?
>
> I have spent a 3 weeks vacation in California, but that was july,
> 10 years ago. I did see most of the common summer birds, but missed
> the yellow-billed magpie, I would like to see that one. My special
> interests are bird migration (also sea birds) and wetland birds.

My mom lives in Santa Clara and happens to be visiting me this
week. She's not a birdwatcher, but says there's a "sanctuary in
Alviso" where birdwatchers go. I don't have any more info than
that (and neither does mom), but maybe you could find out more
once you get to Santa Clara.

8^)~~~~        Sue
~~~~~~~

     "I reserve the absolute right to be smarter
     today than I was yesterday." -Adlai Stevenson
********************************************************
  ICQ 44667939  (http://www.icq.com/)
  Visit me at http://eckhardt.net/suzanne/
  Fayetteville, NC - http://fayettevillecommunity.com/
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Sjaak,

You should rent a car.  No question about that one.

There is an abundance of places to go birding around Santa Clara.  Someone mentioned Palo
Alto Baylands.  There is also Shoreline Park in Mountain View (adjacent to Palo Alto
Baylands).  These are probably the closest good candidates.

If you want to get a little farther from civilization, check www.openspace.org for the
Mid-peninsula Regional Open Space District's web site, which has maps to dozens of
preserves, many within 1/2 hour to one hour of Santa Clara.  Or if you like the coast, you
can take highway 92 to Half Moon Bay (or highway 17 to Santa Cruz, but I think the birding
might not be as good).

I must disclaim that I am not a "real" birder -- I just watch them at the feeders outside
my kitchen window -- but I am a hiker, and this area is loaded with trails and with bird
habitat.  You should have fun!

Sjaak Schilperoort wrote:

> Upcoming week I'm going to Santa Clara, CA, for a one and a half week course.
> So next weekend I have two days available to do some birdwatching (and I'm
> looking forward to it!). Where should I spent that time? Any could places
> near Santa Clara I should visit? Any good coastal sites? Can I rely on
> public transport (guess not)? Can I hire a bicycle or should I rent a car?
>
> I have spent a 3 weeks vacation in California, but that was july,
> 10 years ago. I did see most of the common summer birds, but missed
> the yellow-billed magpie, I would like to see that one. My special
> interests are bird migration (also sea birds) and wetland birds.
>
> Thanks for all info!!
>
> Sjaak Schilperoort (the Netherlands)

Take at look at http://fog.ccsf.cc.ca.us/~jmorlan/scl.htm

This will point you to all the great places to bird here.  Have fun!

Bracey


Sjaak Schilperoort wrote in message <3800F8D1.3F3D7905@xs4all.nl>...
>Upcoming week I'm going to Santa Clara, CA, for a one and a half week
course.
>So next weekend I have two days available to do some birdwatching (and I'm
>looking forward to it!). Where should I spent that time? Any could places
>near Santa Clara I should visit? Any good coastal sites? Can I rely on
>public transport (guess not)? Can I hire a bicycle or should I rent a car?
>
>I have spent a 3 weeks vacation in California, but that was july,
>10 years ago. I did see most of the common summer birds, but missed
>the yellow-billed magpie, I would like to see that one. My special
>interests are bird migration (also sea birds) and wetland birds.
>
>Thanks for all info!!
>
>Sjaak Schilperoort (the Netherlands)

Sjaak Schilperoort wrote:
>
> Upcoming week I'm going to Santa Clara, CA, for a one and a half week course.
> So next weekend I have two days available to do some birdwatching (and I'm
> looking forward to it!). Where should I spent that time? Any could places
> near Santa Clara I should visit? Any good coastal sites? Can I rely on
> public transport (guess not)? Can I hire a bicycle or should I rent a car?

I'm leading 2 bird walks next weekend, but you'll probably need a car
for either one.

Saturday is the All Day Point Reyes Fall Bird Blitz, starting at 8 am at
Five Brooks Trailhead, Hwy 1 ~ 1 hour north of San Francisco, then
traveling all over Point Reyes National Seashore for the next 8-9 hours.
(The bus stops at Bear Valley Visitor Center, which is the second stop
on the Blitz, and we encourage carpooling from there, so if you got that
far, you could hitch a ride for the rest of the day. We arrive at Bear
Valley some time after 9 if you want to catch us - let me know so we'll
be sure to look for you.) We usually pick up 85 - 95 species for the
day, but no magpies.

Sunday I've got a bird walk in the East Bay at Hayward Shoreline
Interpretive Center, salt marsh, shoreline and freshwater marsh right
off the San Mateo Bridge. Unfortunately, the bus stop is a mile away and
I'm pretty sure that bus doesn't run on Sundays. That one goes from noon
- 3 pm, lots of waterfowl and shorebirds, not many passerines.

Interestingly, there were more ducks in Hayward 2 weeks ago than there
were at Pt. Reyes last week, or at least the parts of Pt. Reyes we
checked out. Pt. Reyes should start getting busier duck-wise in the next
week though.

Closest place to Santa Clara Co that I can remember seeing magpies is
Sunol Regional Park, also in the East Bay.

--
"George" Cathy Purchis		catpur@value.net

Almost 30 years. A cast of thousands. Amazing discoveries,
daring rescues. And yes, a happy ending.
On August 20, the American Peregrine Falcon was removed from the
Endangered Species List.

Hello Sjaak;

The city of Santa Clara is situated in Santa Clara county, in central
California (dropped in for those readers far from here...).  There are lots
of places in and near Santa Clara for birding.  You can indulge your birding
fancies while being used as a speed bump by an Elephant Seal on the beach on
one hand, and while being used as a chew toy by a mountain lion on the
other.  Now it's not really all that grim (:-)!, but without some "idea" of
what you want to see, it's kinda hard to explain to someone unfamiliar with
the surrounding area where to go and how to get there.

Susan Cole and Bracey have already pointed you towards a couple of great
resources.  Given that you've got less than 1/4th of a life-time to spend
here, I'm sure that between those two you will find more than enough to both
keep you interested, and add to your US birding list.  If you're interested
in going further afield, you should probably contact myself or one of the
other readers in this area and arrange a one-on-one tour.  We go further
afield not because there are no birds here, but rather to become part of
seasonal or regional spectacles, and to a lesser degree; we've already seen
most of the ones that we trip over everyday...(:-)!

I'm just about to post yesterdays trip to the Mendota WLP to this NG.  We
saw lots of Yellow-billed Magpies...

As for getting a car, well, that's almost a necessity in California.  But,
coming from Holland, let me recommend that you impose upon someone with a
car that's familiar with the area instead.  By that I'm not trying to
discourage your desire or ability for self-sufficiency, rather trying to
give you more time to enjoy, and less time to have to learn the local
driving habits.  Remember, San Jose is now the second largest city in
California...  And for the uninitiated, dealing with the traffic can be
daunting.

Best regards,
Dusty Bleher
San Jose, Ca.
(actually, Campbell.  About 2.5 mi. south of Santa Clara)


Sjaak Schilperoort <sjaak@xs4all.nl> wrote in message
news:3800F8D1.3F3D7905@xs4all.nl...
> Upcoming week I'm going to Santa Clara, CA, for a one and a half week
course.
> So next weekend I have two days available to do some birdwatching (and I'm
> looking forward to it!). Where should I spent that time? Any could places
> near Santa Clara I should visit? Any good coastal sites? Can I rely on
> public transport (guess not)? Can I hire a bicycle or should I rent a car?
>
> I have spent a 3 weeks vacation in California, but that was july,
> 10 years ago. I did see most of the common summer birds, but missed
> the yellow-billed magpie, I would like to see that one. My special
> interests are bird migration (also sea birds) and wetland birds.
>
> Thanks for all info!!
>
> Sjaak Schilperoort (the Netherlands)