Bird Walk Coastal Access Trail

The Bird Walk Coastal Access Trail, part of Sonoma County Regional Parks, was our choice today.  This is a favorite of Sierra's.  We often go here around dusk to see a beautiful sunset and low tide, which is when there is a lot of wildlife.  We have even been blessed enough to see a river otter in Cheney Creek!  This time, we went around 11 am, and it was super high tide, we actually have never seen it this high before.    The creek was almost entirely merged into the Bay!

The bird walk is on Highway One, in Bodega Bay, just passed the entrance to Doran Beach (if you're coming from Sebastopol or South).   There is a small parking lot with a bathroom, and there is a $7 fee to park there, unless you have an annual pass (which I highly recommend for locals).  This is an easy walk, but it is always a feast for the eyes -- it is ALWAYS beautiful.   It starts with a loop off the parking lot that has views of the Bay, the town of Bodega Bay, Bodega Head, Doran Beach and the Pacific Ocean, then you can take the offshoot trail to the Cheney Creek Trail, which leads across the creek and over to Doran Beach.  You can then head onto the Beach if you want.  There is also a great campground here and a boat launch.

We go here all the time!  At the beginning of the pandemic, before they closed the parks for two months, we went here every single day.  We were so sad when it was closed.   Today, Sierra had a break in her school work, so we drove out to take this walk. We saw quite a few birds including an American Kite, Egrets, Herons, Coots, Turkey Vultures, pelicans and many sea birds in the distance that I couldn't see well enough to identify.  Here are some photos:














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