Coastside State Parks highlight Migratory Bird Day, May 14 & 15

Coastside State Parks turn the spotlight on our young people in celebrating International Migratory Bird Day on May 14th and 15th.  This year’s theme for the annual event is “Go Wild, Go Birding,” with activities focused on our youth and learning about birds, bird watching, and conservation. 

Francis Beach Visitor Center Activities:  To mark the occasion, State Parks will have exhibits, arts and crafts, and activities for children of all ages at the visitor center at Half Moon Bay State Beach, 95 Kelly Ave., from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, the 14th and 15th of May.

Francis Beach Bird Walk:  On Saturday there will also be a docent-led bird walk through the fields and along the beach, beginning at the visitor center at 1:00 p.m.  You may see both snowy plovers and semipalmated plovers on the beach as well as brightly colored finches and a variety of other birds in the fields along the Coastside Trail.

Pescadero Marsh Bird Walk:  On Sunday, the 15th of May, State Park docents will lead a special bird walk in Pescadero Marsh, where you will be able to watch the nesting great blue herons and egrets, as well as see many other birds.  More than 200 species of birds have been recorded in the marsh, including many that nest there.  You will also see a variety of spring wildflowers on the walk.  The walk will begin at 1 p.m.  Meet the docents in the middle parking lot of Pescadero State Beach, off of Highway 1, ¼ mile north of Pescadero Road, just south of the highway bridge across Pescadero Creek.

International Migratory Bird Day was begun in the early 1990s by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center to foster greater understanding, appreciation, and protection of migratory birds.  It has been coordinated since 2007 by Environment for the Americas, (EFTA), a nonprofit that works throughout the Western Hemisphere to share information about birds and their conservation.  The day is marked annually in the United States and Canada on the second Saturday in May.