The mixed flocks that forage through the trees occasionally include unusual warblers and other species. A variety of forest birds occur here, and the dead pines provide nesting habitat for woodpeckers, Pygmy Nuthatch, Violet-green Swallow, American Kestrel and others. The habitat here is changing many of the pines have died from pitch canker, although some still appear healthy. The trail climbs east past the willows and turns north into an open area with Monterey pines on the east side of the park. The willows south of the pond and along the adjacent park entrance road should be checked thoroughly for migrant and vagrant landbirds. Check the willows and the margin of the pond for various landbirds Green Heron and Black-crowned Night-Heron are frequently here when there is water. Near the lower end of the walkway a dirt trail leads to the right, past a seasonal pond. Swainson’s Thrush and Pacific-slope Flycatcher are among the nesters here in the fall the berry tangles attract migrant Western Tanager, Black-headed Grosbeak, Swainson’s and Hermit thrushes, and others. This path enters a eucalyptus-filled drainage with an understory of blackberries and poison oak. Many birders start at the wooden walkway that leads from park headquarters to the “Butterfly Trees,” famed for wintering monarch butterflies (peak numbers occur from October to February). The inland parts of the park include willow thickets, coastal scrub, and groves of pine and eucalyptus trees, and have produced a host of rare landbirds (e.g., Grace’s Warbler, Painted Bunting, and Dusky-capped Flycatcher). Western Gull and Brandt’s Cormorant have nested on the natural bridge and on the cliffs east of the bluff parking lot. The natural bridge (the last remaining of three) adjacent to this parking lot is a resting place for gulls and Brown Pelican, and usually provides a great study of Brandt’s, Double-crested and Pelagic cormorants. The parking lot on the bluff near the West Cliff Dr entrance provides a vantage point from which to scan the beach or to scope the ocean for loons, grebes, shearwaters, scoters, Red-breasted Merganser, Common Murre, Pigeon Guillemot, Marbled Murrelet, and other inshore swimmers. The rocky shoreline west of the beach often has rock-favoring shorebirds, such as resident Black Oystercatcher, migrating Wandering Tattler, and wintering Black Turnstone, Surfbird, and Whimbrel. At the west end of the beach, Moore Creek seasonally forms a lagoon, which can be good for a heron or two or sometimes an interesting shorebird in the spring or fall. The beach at Natural Bridges – attractive to gulls and shorebirds – is best early in the morning before too many people arrive. Trails extend along the east and west shores, and a railroad trestle at the north end of the pond lets a birder walk the entire perimeter.īirds. Park trails are also accessible across Delaware Ave from Antonelli Pond.Īntonelli Pond, owned by the Santa Cruz County Land Trust, lies just north of Natural Bridges, across Delaware Ave. One may walk in for free at the north side of the park from Delaware Ave at the foot of Natural Bridges Dr. Parking on Swanton Blvd is free, and there is a short-term, free parking lot inside the park just before the entrance station. The main entrance to Natural Bridges is at the west end of West Cliff Dr, adjacent to its intersection with Swanton Blvd. Cars are charged an entrance fee, but you may park outside and walk in for free.ĭirections. This park has a picnic area and nature center but no camping. A good sampling of the birds of several coastal habitats occurs in Santa Cruz’s southwest corner, and the area also boasts some of the county’s better “vagrant traps.” Natural Bridges is one of the county’s most popular birding sites, with a history of rare birds.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |