San Elijo Lagoon
Approximate Birding Time: Anywhere from 30 minutes to 4 hours, depending on which trail(s) you hike
Facilities: There are restrooms at the visitor center off Manchester and at the State Beach.
Directions: The trail along the south side of the lagoon can be taken in sections or all at once; the narrative below will take you to the easternmost access point and allow you to work your way westward and eventually to the Visitor's Center. These are not "official" trail names, but simply convenient titles...
El Camino Real Trail
To reach
this trailhead, take I-5 north to Lomas Santa Fe Drive in Solana Beach, and turn
right. Follow Lomas Santa Fe to the four-way stop (Highland Drive, 1.0) and
turn left. Follow Highland Drive as it winds down the hill and ends at El
Camino Real, where you'll turn left. Follow El Camino Real for 0.4 mile to
the trailhead on the left (if you hit the sharp right turn you've just
missed it). This portion of the trail takes you through a eucalyptus
forest and sage/chaparral, plus some wetland habitat (including just enough
willow forest to attract Yellow Warbler and Yellow-breasted Chat
in summer), although it tends to be
dry at this end. This is a good area for songbirds and migrants; look for
Hermit Thrush, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and various
sparrows in winter; Black-headed Grosbeak, Pacific-slope Flycatcher,
and Bullock's Oriole in summer; and Black Phoebe, Anna's Hummingbird,
both towhees, Hutton's Vireo, and Red-shouldered and Cooper's Hawks year round.
Although not "countable", Nutmeg Mannikins have been seen here with some
regularity, so they may become somewhat established. Open-country birds such as
Western Meadowlark, Loggerhead Shrike, Say's Phoebe, Northern Harrier, and
White-tailed Kite can be found past the "forest". This
section and the "Powerline Trail" (described next) can easily be done in one
hour-long round trip; simply continue straight at the intersection.
Jungle feel of the "El Camino Real Trail"
Getting out into the open
Powerline Trail 
To reach this trailhead, retrace your way back up to Lomas Santa Fe towards the
freeway. But just before the freeway, turn right onto Santa Helena (0.9).
Follow this road all the way to the end. This trail takes you down through
the sage and along a power line right-of-way, where you start to pick up
associated birds such as Bushtit, California Thrasher, Wrentit, and California
and Blue-gray
Gnatcatchers. After about five minutes you reach the intersection with
the main east-west trail; turning left will take you to an overview of the marsh
with "potholes" of wetland that often have water when the rest of the lagoon is
dry. These little pockets often have ducks, American Avocets,
Black-necked Stilts, and White-faced Ibis. Soras, Virginia,
and Clapper Rails
can sometimes be heard in this area, and migrating swifts and swallows
are often at eye level, especially when the marine layer is low.
Wetland "potholes"
Transect Trail
+
(There's a bit of a dip between the parking area and the main trail...)
Head back up Santa Helena and turn right on Santa Rosita (the second four-way
stop), then left on Santa Florencia (0.2), and yet
another left on Santa Inez (0.2), where you can park at the end of the street.
This trail also joins with the main east-west trail, but you can also go straight to
the paved dike that crosses the lagoon. The sage scrub you first wind
through can have California Gnatcatcher, and the tules at the dike can have
Least Bitterns and rails (although you have to be a rail to squeeze
through the hikers' gate). Depending on how much water is in the
lagoon, you can get great looks at waterfowl in the winter (if you're here at
first light you might be treated to unusual geese like Snow or Greater
White-fronted in with the Canadas). Shorebirds can be found year round,
especially Black-necked Stilts and American Avocets, even if the water is low
(there's usually at least one puddle near the trail's terminus at Manchester
that hosts a Greater Yellowlegs or other solitary shorebird), and White-faced Ibis
are possible as well.
This can be a good spot for the occasional Eurasian Wigeon, as well as "Euram"
hybrids. Belding's Savannah Sparrows can be found here along with the
similar but larger Song Sparrows. Be aware that suburban birds such
as Hooded Orioles (summer) hang around the homes!
Checking out the ducks along the "Transect Trail"
Rios Avenue Trail
Retrace your way back to Lomas Santa Fe and turn right, under the freeway.
Continue to Rios Avenue (0.9) and turn right. Take this road to the very
end. You get a grand overview of the lagoon here; scan for herons
(Little Blue
on rare occasions), grebes
(including Eared), ducks, terns (Elegant are often abundant and noisy in spring
and summer), gulls, American White Pelicans, and raptors (Osprey often perch on
the tall stumps in the lagoon). From here you have a choice of which
direction to go; I usually take the eastbound trail, as it makes a nice "noose
loop", taking you right down to the lagoon for some close-up looks at
herons year-round, waterfowl
in the winter, and terns in season (including Least), and it can be a good place for
California
Gnatcatcher and Belding's Savannah Sparrow as well. When the lagoon is
dry, shorebirds are often attracted to the mudflats (this can be a good spot for
Semipalmated Plovers), and American Avocets nest closer to the
freeway. A sudden upheaval of birds may mark the
presence of a Peregrine Falcon. There's also a little
euc "forest" near the freeway that can be good for migrants.
California Quail and wintering sparrows (including Lincoln's
and Golden-crowned along with the more expected White-crowned) like to hide in the
brush around here as well. The westbound trail gives you a bird's-eye view
of the marsh and can sometimes be an easy way to see Common Moorhen, Virginia Rail, and
Sora (on rare occasion even Clapper Rails can be heard here), as
well as various ducks that like to hide in the reeds (including Blue-winged
Teal, which is uncommon but increasing on the west coast). The ponds near
the railroad tracks are also favorites of Red-necked Phalaropes during
migration. Once you're down the hill, the trail is basically flat, but
coming back up can be a workout...
View of the lagoon from the end of Rios Avenue
Eastbound trail (note that the lagoon is drier than in the above shot)
Euc jungle
View of morning traffic from the upper trail...
Along the westbound trail
Cardiff State Beach (fee)
This is
worth a stop (during the week, anyway) to add some coastal birds to your day
list. There are several beach accesses, but the best is the actual mouth of the lagoon, between Cardiff and San Elijo State
Beaches. To get there, retrace your way to Lomas Santa Fe and turn right.
At Highway 101 (0.1, the second light after Rios) turn right, and after 1.6
miles turn left at the light and into the park. (If you absolutely don't
want to pay the fee, there's a nice overlook along San Elijo Avenue from where
you can scope the beach and ocean.) Mouth access is at the far
north end. Here in winter (when there aren't too many people) you can find
Heermann's, Glaucous-winged, Western, California, and Ring-billed
Gulls, as well
as the occasional Royal and Caspian Tern. Common shorebirds include
Sanderling, Willet, Marbled Godwit, and Black-bellied Plover, but you might
also be
able to spot a Snowy Plover. Check for unusual gulls; one spring a
Glaucous Gull was found here. Be sure to scan the ocean; Brown
Pelicans
sail low over the waves year-round, Western Grebes
often
gather off shore, and you should be able to find a loon or two in winter.
View of the lagoon mouth at Cardiff State Beach from San Elijo Avenue
Visitor Center Nature Trail
Turn left
out of the park onto 101 northbound, and turn right at Chesterfield (0.3).
Turn right again onto San Elijo Avenue, and follow this road as it winds around
and eventually joins with Manchester. Shortly after the stop sign at
Manchester you'll see the sign for the San Elijo Lagoon Visitor's Center on the
right (the parking area, open 9:30 - 4:30, is 0.7 miles from the turn onto San
Elijo). The terrific little loop trail takes you through more wetland (you
may actually see rails and Marsh Wrens in here) and alongside the lagoon.
Birds in the lagoon are similar to what you'd see along the Rios Trail, but are
often closer to the trail here. On the return loop you pass through a nice willow riparian forest with
Bell's Vireo, Yellow
Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat in summer, and Downy and Nuttall's Woodpeckers, American Goldfinch
year-round, plus other
specialties and migrants. California Gnatcatchers can also be found here, although
they're easier to find on the south side.
Sage habitat at the Visitor's Center
Riparian forest along the Nature Trail
Personal Checklist ●=small numbers █ = large numbers (10+)
Please keep in mind that these lists are NOT comprehensive, and that some months may have had poor overall coverage. Species in red are irruptive or vagrant species and should not be expected.