Trip Details

This half-day trip offers a nice mix of California scrub community, rocky shoreline and ocean birds. We'll start down on the rocks on the ocean side of Point Loma National Seashore. There we hope to find a mixture of shorebirds and ocean birds, with the possibility of 2-3 cormorant species, 3-4 gull species, 2-3 tern species and a mix of west coast shorebirds. Depending upon time and tide, we may expect Western Willet, Ruddy and Black Turnstones, Greater Yellowlegs, and with a bit of luck, specialties like oystercatchers, Surfbird or Wandering Tattler. We'll have scope views of the nearshore Pacific, with the possibility of Black-vented or even Pink-footed Shearwaters, Brown Pelicans and maybe some fly-by loons or alcids. One year, we had a February fly-over of a Magnificent Frigatebird here, though that is not an expected species. We will try several different spots along the shore, driving between parking lots and walking the cliff trails. 

On the sloping hillsides behind us is good coastal sage scrub, which opens up the possibility of California and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, and the standard array of chaparral birds with two towhees and two phoebe species likely, plus specialty birds like Wrentit and California Thrasher. With a bit of luck we might get a serenading Greater Roadrunner, or Coastal Cactus Wren, an endangered subspecies, defending a patch of prickly pear. We will finish up at the main park area for Cabrillo National Monument, eating our lunch at the picnic tables and listening for wintering orioles, California Scrub-Jay, Bushtits and other regular resident birds. 

 

There are bathrooms with running water there. All walking will be on mostly flat ground. Though not all areas are wheelchair accessible, the walking will be generally easy on the day. A short drive by van will return us to the convention center roughly around noon.