Field Trip: Birding at St. Francis Beach (Half Moon Bay)

 

Where: St. Francis Beach (95 Kelly Av, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019)

When: Year round, but 2-3 weeks advanced booking requested.

Who: All ages, elementary best.

Cost: Free

We were delighted to have the opportunity to go on another field trip with the Half Moon Bay State Beach Rangers again this past August. This time the trip was "Birding at St. Francis Beach".

The trip started out at the small museum on the south side of the parking lot. There, the ranger brought out a cart full of intriguing props for constructing a Western Snowy Plover's nest. 

During this activity, students learned that snowy plovers build their nests right on the beach using driftwood. Thus, the props included twigs and pebbles, as well as a pair of plovers per team - the plovers were incredibly popular.

We learned that plovers often build next to a big log for camouflage, however a question naturally arose: We were meeting at a beach with people running around in the sand where the plovers nest, but we rarely see them. Is it because they are camouflaged well? 

Melissa McMasters from Memphis, TN, United States, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Unfortunately it turns out the plovers are considered threatened, in part due to habitat attrition. Hence, parts of the beach are cordoned off where plover nests have been found. Volunteers also walk along the beach to count the plovers.

After cleaning up, the rangers distributed loaner binoculars to each student. These were good, sturdy binoculars which were lightweight and had good optics. They then brought us out to a field where pictures had been setup and trained the students on using them - first, look at the target object then bring the binoculars to the eye, adjusting the binos. 

The rangers had even hung some pictures in the trees, as we would be looking for birds in their habitats. 

When we were comfortable using them, we started on the Coastal Trail from the north end of the beach. This trail initially goes past some campers, but soon veers onto the beach. Along the way, we had ample opportunities to spot hawks, gulls, pelicans and others affectionally called LBBs (Little Brown Birds).

Along the way, we saw examples of protected nesting areas for the snowy plovers.

The trail extends beyond, but we turned back so it was an easy walk for young ones. We liked that this trip demystified bird watching for us - we could take our families out on the same trail and now we have something more to appreciate at Half Moon Bay!