Birding Haven, Part 2

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In this four-part series, BenitoLink will explore birds and birding on the Central Coast, which has been named the best state for bird watching in several categories including the number of bird species, national and state parks, bird watching groups, and Audubon Society offices and chapters. Part 2 looks at parks within the county known for birding and focusing on Pinnacles National Park, Fremont Peak State Park and San Benito County Historical Park.

The guttural call of the common raven and the strident call of the California scrub-jay in concert with the songs of the western tanager, northern mockingbird, spotted towhee and more can be heard by hikers as they relax at Bear Gulch Reservoir at Pinnacles National Park. 

Perhaps this is the hiker’s end point, or perhaps it’s a respite before hiking to the high peaks to see the California condor with its 9.5-foot wingspan soaring over an opening by the pinnacle rocks.

San Benito County is home to several open spaces where bird watching is considered exceptional. 

Pinnacles National Park in Paicines has documented more than 160 species including California’s endemic yellow-billed magpie. Its 26,606 acres host a variety of habitats with trails through riparian, chaparral, woodland, grassland and rock.

Other species include: acorn woodpecker, Steller’s jay, California quail, oak titmouse, northern flicker, California thrasher, spotted towhee, American coot, great blue heron, peregrine and prairie falcons, turkey vulture, great egret, pied billed-grebe, golden eagle and greater roadrunner. 

Pinnacles is usually part of the Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count which is a nationwide event. 

https://www.nps.gov/pinn/learn/nature/birds.htm

https://www.nps.gov/articles/landbirds-pinnacles.htm

https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/DownloadFile/709562

Fremont Peak State Park in San Juan Bautista is home to winter visitors such as pine siskin and cedar waxwing. With its pine and oak woodlands, and its chaparral and woodland biomes, birders can year-round find the only North America extant native pigeon—the band-tailed pigeon—in the park. On the peak of the mountain, at 3,173 feet above sea level in the Gabilan Mountain Range, hikers can see the red-tailed hawk and turkey vulture soaring above as they ride the thermals. They can also see the American kestrel for which the hills are named. 

Other species include Steller’s jay, spotted towhee, California towhee, yellow-rumped warbler, hermit thrush, loggerhead shrike, lazuli bunting and purple finch.

San Benito County Historical Park, while only 33 acres, nestled in Tres Pinos, is home to more than 140 bird species, according to Cornell Lab’s ebird app. Within the park’s natural riparian and chaparral habitats, birders have spotted the band-tailed pigeon, greater roadrunner, ash-throated flycatcher and birds of prey such as red-tailed hawk and bald eagle.

A bonded pair of common ravens have used the same nest in the park for more than seven years and successfully fledged young most years. 

Other species include American crow, white-breasted nuthatch, Bewick’s wren, California scrub-jay, bushtit, chestnut-backed chickadee, California thrasher, loggerhead shrike, oak titmouse, American robin, western kingbird, and the black and Say’s phoebes, as well as summer visitors such as violet-green and barn swallows.

San Benito County hotspots are here.

San Benito County is home to numerous parks and recreational areas that are good for bird watching:

• Pinnacles National Park
• Juan Bautista de Anza Trail Head  
• Fremont Peak State Park 
• Hollister Hills State Vehicle Recreation Area 
• Pacheco State Park  
• San Benito County Historical Park
• Panoche Hills Recreational Area  
• Tummy Hills Recreational Area  
• Laguna Mountain Recreation Area  

A comprehensive list of parks in San Benito is available on the R.E.A.C.H San Benito Parks Foundation website. 

All native non-game birds are protected under the Migratory Bird Act and California Migratory Bird Act. It is illegal to take a bird, feather, bone or nest of any protected species. The taking of native game birds is permitted within parameters such as season. 

Birding and bird watching etiquette

Take only photographs, leave only footprints 

Do not disturb birds or other wildlife

Do not handle birds or other wildlife

Do not flush birds

Keep groups small 

Wear neutral or muted color clothing

Avoid using flash photography

Do not pull over onto dry vegetation

Do not enter private property without the landowner or occupant’s permission

Ebird list of San Benito County birds

List of birds found in California

mindfulbirding.org

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