Spend Friday mornings bird watching in Goleta with the Santa Barbara Audubon Society. All bird walks begin at 8:30am and last about 2 hours. The walks are open to all. For directions and parking click here. Upcoming walks include:
- Friday, March 29, 2024 – Friday Bird Walk: UCSB Campus Lagoon. The UCSB Lagoon area covers many habitats. Views of Goleta Bay, and ocean south of Campus Point provide many chances for observing shorebirds and seabirds. The fresh water lagoon provides habitat for additional water birds and the surrounding terrestrial areas have potential for many other species.
- Friday, April 26, 2024 – Friday Bird Walk: Goleta Beach/Atascadero Creek. The Goleta Beach / Goleta Slough / Atascadero Creek area is one of the go to hot spots in Goleta for birding. The eBird hotspot for the area boasts 232 species. Water fowl, shorebirds, waders, raptors, gulls and other species are not uncommon in their season. Goleta Slough is the main drainage for many of the Goleta valley / western Santa Barbara area creeks, providing waterways for birds to up to and down from the Santa Barbara mountains.
- Friday, May 10, 2024 – Friday Bird Walk – Farren Road. Farren Road is at the very western edge of Goleta. It is a road that provides access along a ridge that is between Tecolote Canyon and Eagle Canyon. The habitat is varied and thus provides a varied list of avian species from sparrows to raptors. The views of the mountains, ocean and Channel Islands is quite special as well.
- Friday, May 24, 2024 – Friday Bird Walk: Lake Los Carneros. Lake Los Carneros (LLC) is one of Goleta’s premier birding hot spots. Its 25 acre lake and varied wooded and grass land habitats make LLC a wonderful place to visit in the middle of Goleta. Once a part of Rancho La Patera it is now a Mecca for anyone wanting to get in touch with nature.
The Santa Barbara Audubon Society held its 10th Annual Winter Bird Count for Kids this past January. Thanks to all 39 volunteers, including the 15 group leaders, for their dedication and smiles on a rainy day. Kids and high school helpers from 16 schools (eight of them located in Goleta) attended. We are very grateful to the City of Goleta, the Goleta Valley Historical Society/Stow House, Christ Lutheran Church, and the South Coast Railroad Museum for their support, with a special shout out to Lisa, the property caretaker, and the crew at SB County Fire Station 14.
Learn more about the Santa Barbara Audubon Society and activities here: https://santabarbaraaudubon.org/.
Photo from the 10th Annual Winter Bird Count for Kids, photo courtesy Colette Becker