Santa Clara River Estuary: A Hidden Beach Bird PartyFeatured
At the Ventura Harbor Village, flocks of tourists pick through shops selling clunking bamboo chimes and fish-shaped ice cream cones. On the opposite side of Spinnaker Drive, surfers bob on the ocean’s surface waiting for the perfect set. However, a third unseen group gathers along Spinnaker – floating, eating and soaking up this seaside retreat. Just 400 yards from popular beach Surfer’s Knoll sits the Santa Clara River Estuary, a nature preserve where almost 280 species of birds have been observed. The Santa Clara River Estuary is tucked along the Ventura coastline — less than three miles from Highway 101. Unknown to most spreading out their beach blankets, sits one of the richest bird watching environments in Southern California. And perhaps that is a good thing. An easy five-minute walk away is the protected habitat of the Western Snowy Plover, a small shorebird who nests in the sand above the high tide line. Once parked, follow the beach to the left at the shoreline (so as not to accidentally roam through a plover nest), past the signs and the dunes scraggly with invasive ice plants. The coastal playground evolves into habitat as bits of dried reeds and lost feathers litter…
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