Huntington Central Park

Lake Huntington on the West side of the park.

Due to the wide variety of habitats in one place and the amount of land set aside for the park, this is one of the best birding hot spots in Orange County and a really fun place to bird watch . There are small lakes and ponds and meadows, lawns, trees, flowers, marshy areas, and two restaurants, and playgrounds. It also has one large nature center, Shipley Nature Center and a small one by the library which doesn't seem to have a name, but has lots of butterflies, squirrels, and rabbits. You can see hundreds of species of birds in one place. There are several parts of the park. The park is bisected into two main divisions by Golden West Street.

The West Side

On the West side of the park is Huntington Lake. (To find out more about the water level of the park's ponds and lakes, see Ask the OC Birder Girl and page down to the question about the water levels.) Huntington Lake is full all year and stocked with fish such as blue gill, catfish and rainbow trout. And yes, fishing is allowed if you have a permit. There are also several play areas and large grassy areas for picnics and gathering. Alice's Breakfast in the Park is also there. You can eat inside or outside and look at the lake while you eat. It is against the law to feed the ducks. The lake itself is an area where you can see Snowy Egrets, Great Egrets, Black-crowned Night Herons, Green Herons , Mallard Ducks, various geese, American Coots, and of terns of various kinds diving for fish. In the trees surrounding the lake, I have seen Bullock's Orioles, Red-winged Blackbirds, Downy Woodpeckers, Great-tailed Grackles, Cooper's Hawks, and much more. Even the shrubs are full of birds like Common Yellowthroats, Hermit Thrushes, White-crowned Sparrows, and even on occasion a hummingbird. On the lawns there are Western Bluebirds and Dark-eyed Juncos. There are bluebird nestboxes on this side of Huntington Central Park. The west side also has a great nature center called Shipley Nature Center with paths, lots of shrubs and trees. There is a pond and lots of animals--especially birds. You can enter the West side of the park in several ways. You can enter from Golden West Street just south of Slater Avenue. Or go south on Edwards Street past Talbert Avenue and turn left at the Central Park sign. When the street curves right, move slightly left and enter the parking lot.

The East Side

On the east side, Talbert Lake by the Library is very dependent on the water table and can disappear into a muddy marsh when water is scarce. The water is all but gone during a drought. There are also little swampy ponds that support all kinds of wildlife, but can also disappear. You can also have breakfast on the east side of the park at the Park Bench Cafe. You can bring your dog and eat at the outdoor tables. They even have treats for your dog. There are ducks, but signs are posted that it is illegal to feed them. (Poor nutrition, disease, overpopulation are just a few reasons why not.) Near the library lake you can see Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons, and Common Yellowthroats. I have also seen American Coots, Northern Shovelers, and Double-crested Cormorants. Also on this side of the park are Nutmeg Mannikins, Black Phoebes, Spotted Towhees, and California Towhees. It is not uncommon to see that Huntington Central Park listed on the Orange County Rare Bird Alert as the place a rare bird was spotted. There are lots of butterflies on this side of the park. You can enter the east side of the park from several ways. On Slater Avenue just east of Golden West, there is a parking lot which is right next to Armstrong's and the gas station. You can also enter the east side of the park by going south on Golden West south of Slater Avenue. Turn left at Talbert Avenue which turns into the Library and Central Park parking lot or if you are going north on Golden West, turn right onto Talbert Avenue. You just walk into the park from there. If you are headed toward the park from Beach Blvd., you can take Talbert Avenue, and it dead-ends into the Library and Central Park parking lot.

Double-crested Cormorant in Talbert Lake near the Library

Huntington Central Park Links and More Information

Huntington Central Park

Here's a map of the park. There are so many activities at Huntington Central Park that it is hard to list them all. There is Frisbee golf, an equestrian center, a sports complex, a dog park, an exercise course, nature centers, an amphitheatre, and more. For the birds found at Central Park, check out the Bolsa Chica Conservancy Guide to birds found at Bolsa Chica or Huntington Central Park. Or Shipley Nature Center's bird count. For an article about the park see Birder's World article about Huntington Central Park.

Shipley Nature Center

Shipley Nature Center

is a nature center built and renovated by the citizens of Huntington Beach and
Orange County.

Very nice area with lots of birds, rabbits, squirrels, lizards, and flowers. There are paths and a pond. In the nature center building are educational and fun displays. The staff is friendly and will answer your questions readily. Check out all the birds that have been spotted here in the bird count, or see their cool pictures.

See a recent Orange County Register Article about Shipley Nature Center
Shipley's Nature Center: An Oasis of Natural Beauty in Orange County.

The Park Bench Cafe

Restaurants in the Park:


Central Park has two Cafes. I have eaten at both cafes. They are both fun places to eat in the park. But some think they can be a bit pricey for park food.



The Park Bench Cafe


Wednesday-Friday 7:30AM-2:00PM.
Saturday and Sunday 7:30Am-3:00PM
Closed Monday-Tuesday and Major Holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving


This is on the east side of the park. There is a little parking lot near the restaurant just south of Slater on Golden West, or you can walk from one of the other parking lots in the east side of the park. You can eat inside or outside. In a drought, the nice view of the water disappears--there is no water-- but there is a great view of the trees, grass, and nature. Outside seating is nice outside patio-type resin tables and chairs, and nice umbrellas. They easily accommodate larger parties. It is often crowded, and you do have to wait sometimes on the weekends. But you can bring your dog and eat at the tables outside. Your dog can eat, too. They have treats. Lots of dogs and their humans eat here.

They do have a small inside area. The menu is varied, and the food is decent restaurant food with prices comparable to restaurants elsewhere. A friend of mine thought it was a little expensive for what she got, but it seems reasonable comparatively. If you can overlook a few faults, it can be an enjoyable and fun experience eating out in the park. It is near the library, and there are extensive walking paths throughout the area.




Kathy May's Lakeview Cafe

This is the new restaurant that has replaced Alice's Breakfast in the Park.   Foursquare says people like it.   Some on Yelp lament the lack of the homey atmosphere Alice's had.  I have been there.  Kathy May's is not a homey restaurant.  It has been remodeled and has a fresh, clean--some say sparse--look.   For some this is a negative, but for others the cleaner more formal atmosphere is a plus.  Alice's was a family-run restaurant that had been there for decades.   Kathy May's is a business new to this location.  Do not expect Mary Beth's wonderful cinnamon rolls or Alice's blueberry pancakes.  The restaurant is different.   The menu is different.   They have typical breakfast fare.   For lunch, there are sandwiches, soup, and salads like BBQ chicken salad, Cobb, and chicken Ceasar.  For dinner, you can have steaks, four kinds of seafood, pasta including their chili spaghetti, a few Mexican dishes, and barbeque.  Obviously, the hours are longer than Alice's.   With Alice's you could have only breakfast and lunch.  At Kathy May's you can have dinner.  And you won't arrive there for a late afternoon walk and find it closed.  You can still bring your dog, but the seating area for dogs is smaller.  The outside patio is in two parts:  the old, wood tables and the new upgraded patio with glass topping the patio wall to keep the breeze out, but allowing you to see the lake.  The new, outside tables are more restaurant patio seating rather than the picnic-like wooden table-and-bench seating outside of Alice's original restaurant.   If you want to sit outside in the quiet and listen to the birds while you eat at Kathy May's Lake View Cafe, forget about it.  They have music piped outside, and say they are unable to turn it off even if only one person is on the patio.  Hopefully, they will rethink that. After all, many people come to enjoy the peaceful lake, the birds, and to just relax.  The music kind of disrupts that feeling of serenity.  The interior seemed noisy.  I did not get the best service the only time I went, and the food was just fair.  However, I will try again to see if it was an off day.  Prices are about the same as the Park Bench Cafe.   Not cheap.  They do not have the take-out window--which I liked, but you can get take-out.   The great thing is that they do not sell bird food like Alice did. As much as I liked Alice, I didn't like the encouragement to feed the ducks.   It created a mess.  And feeding the birds is against the law.   Definitely a different kind of restaurant than Alice's.  This is really a reincarnation not of Alice's but of Kathy May's old restaurant over by Golden West College.  They are settling in and have mixed reviews at this point. So we will see how things develop.   Kathy May's Lakeview Cafe is open 7 days a week from 7:00am to 9:00pm.  She also has a BBQ restaurant at the Huntington Central Park Sports Complex called Kathy May's BBQ.




UPDATE:  Unfortunately, Alice's has closed down and is no longer in business.  However, if you click on this link, you can find out where to get Mary Beth's baked goods.  She was the baker for her mother, Alice.

Alice's Breakfast in the Park

Hours Daily 7AM-2:00PM Daily

Alice's overlooks Huntington Lake on the West side of the park. If you enter off Edwards, you will be right by the restaurant. This restaurant has the better view by far in my opinion. There are lots of ducks and you can feed them on the grass. (Be considerate of restaurant and patrons and do not feed the ducks by the tables.) They have some nice seating inside overlooking the lake. Outside seating is not as extensive as the Park Bench Cafe -- more rustic with older, stationary wooden tables and stationary chairs with no umbrellas at the tables, but the view and the fresh-baked goods make up for it easily. I have seen them set up larger tables for big parties. They are open from 7:00AM until 2PM daily so you can have breakfast and lunch, too. They take bakery orders for their delicious home-made large cookies, muffins, breads, and cinnamon rolls that you can pick up and take home or eat there. They serve breakfast foods, and they also serve salads and sandwiches for lunch.
In addition to ducks (Mallards, American Wigeons, Northern Shovelers, and occasional other wild ducks), the lake attracts geese of several species, American Coots, Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets , Green , Snowy Egrets, Allen's Hummingbird---Selasphorus sasin, Anna's Hummingbird--Calypte anna ,orioles, and many other wild birds, rabbits, and lots of squirrels. You can often see several species of tern fishing by diving into the lake after the fish. On occasion, in the fall and winter there are a few American White Pelicans. Alice's does a lot of their own baking. Note that they have added some resin patio tables. If you are a glass-half-full kind of person, you might nit-pick about the old tables, and the muddy spots in the grass. Otherwise, you just might enjoy the experience. I love the hot chocolate and their freshly made cinnamon rolls. Mmmmm. You can bring your dog to Alice's as well. I actually prefer Alice's because I don't have to think of what day it is to know if they are open. They are. And it is a family-run business. Much homier. More intimate. It is right around the corner from the Shipley Nature Center.

Huntington Central Park Library

The Library




Huntington Central Park Library




Huntington Central Park Library is one of the best libraries in Orange County and was started by a grant from the Carnegie Foundation. And the library even has a theatre. It has several floors. According to the library website, their collection consists of "450,000 books, 450 magazine subscriptions, 6,000 videotapes, 4,000 compact discs, 3,500 books on cassette and books on CD, and 700 DVDs." It has a great section on genealogy, a children's story hour, a center for teens and young adults, individual study rooms, computers, and even more. What a great library!







What's not to like? Huntington Central Park has it all: culture,
education, recreation, wildlife, lakes, nature center, trails, flowers,
butterflies, birds. And it is one of the best birding hot spots in Orange
County. Try it out. It will end up on your list of the best places to go birding
in Orange County, too.

Gulf Fritillary on Latana at Huntington Central Park near the Library.

Also see my posts "A Walk in Huntington Central Park", and A Walk Among the Fall Leaves at Huntington Central Park West, Mallards, Odd Ducks, and the Wild Ducks of Orange County.

View Larger Map

OC Birder Girl Links of Interest

Hutington Central Park



A Tale of Two Coots


A Walk Among the Fall Leaves at Huntington Central Park West


A Walk in Huntington Central Park West 10/15/2007


Wood Duck or Mandarin Duck?


Orange County Bird Checklists


Shipley Nature Center





OC Birder Girl Links of Birds Found in Huntington Central Park

Allen's Hummingbirds



American Coots



American Kestrels



American White Pelicans



American Wigeons



Audubon Yellow-Rumped Warbler



Black-crowned Night Herons



Black Phoebes



Black-necked Stilts



Cedar Waxwings
Common Yellowthroat




Cooper's Hawks



Double-crested Cormorants



Eared Grebes



Great Blue Herons



Mallards



Northern Shovelers



Odd Ducks



Osprey



Northern Pintails



Red-Tailed Hawks



Snowy Egrets



Turkey Vultures



Western Grebes




White-crowned Sparrows



White-Tailed Kites




The Wild Ducks of Orange County
























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Black Phoebe--Sayornis nigricans

Black Phoebe with a catch outside the Shipley Nature Center in Huntington Central Park.

I really like Black Phoebes. In fact, the Black Phoebe may just be my favorite species. Every home seems to have one perched nearby in the O.C. or even in Southern California. When my great-aunt was alive, she was always shooing a Black Phoebe off the patio furniture in the backyard. If she didn't come out and chase him, he would come closer and actually peek in the window. He seemed to enjoy playing tag with my elderly Aunt.

Resting after a hearty meal. Shipley Nature Center in Huntington Central Park.

Orange County is said to have the largest population of Black Phoebes of any county in the United States. (I have lost the article citation, but I read it in the newspaper.) These cute little tyrant flycatchers are black above and white below. It sits on a tree, post, fence, table, gas meter, or any observation post available. It watches closely, then flies out to grab an insect flying by, and returns to its post to eat. Black Phoebes love to fly catch over large expanses of grass, near water, or from any handy post. In addition to insects, they occasionally catch caterpillars, and small fish. Really. Black Phoebes build mud nests usually under eaves or bridges. They are highly adaptable to our urban environment.

Black Phoebe on a backyard fence.

Black Phoebes are Orange County Natives and breed here.   In fact, they breed all along the West Coast from Oregon on down through Baja California and into Central and South America. In winter, it flies south into California and Central and South America.

Black Phoebe at Huntington Central Park .

You will see Black Phoebes on any perch available perch. A resin table or chair, a fence, a patio rail, a post, a bush or tree, or a fallen branch on the ground. They especially like places near water, but can be found anywhere.

 

Young Black Phoebe Sunning itself.

A similar species in Orange County is the Say's Phoebe. Say's Phoebes act in a very similar manner, but has a gray head and back and a light, rust-colored belly and under-tail coverts. It is much less common and is said to breed inland. I have seen Say's Phoebes frequently at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in the winter and also at Mason Regional Park in the winter. The movements may say "Black Phoebe," but once you look at it, you'll know it's not a Black Phoebe.

Black Phoebe--Dry Dock from OC Birder Girl on Vimeo.

Compare with the Say's Phoebe below filmed by videographer and birder Don DesJardin:

Say's Phoebe from Don DesJardin on Vimeo.

By the Central Park Library in Huntington Central Park.

I like Black Phoebes. I have had one or two in my patio or yard for the the last 20 plus years both in Los Angeles and Orange Counties.  They make a place seem like home.   They make me smile.

Time to stretch in Huntington Central Park.

I hope have you enjoyed reading about and seeing pictures and videos of this common, but likable resident of Orange County. Look outside. There may be a Black Phoebe near you! Have fun birding in Orange County!

Black Phoebe finds a flycatching perch at San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary.

If you want to know how to say "phoebe," click Merriam Webster pronunciation here.

El Dorado Nature Center in nearby Long Beach.

OC Birder Girl Links

Central Park in Huntington Beach

A great place to see Black Phoebes. They are abundant in Central Park.

Birding Hot Spots in Orange County, California

You can find Black Phoebes just about anywhere in Orange County.

Say's Phoebe--Sayornis saya

A similar species in the same family as the Black Phoebe.

Black Phoebe External Links and Resources:

Bird Cinema Black Phoebe Video

Great site with bird videos. This one is a Black Phoebe.

All About Birds: Black Phoebe

This is a great article on Black Phoebes by the well-know ornithology lab at
Cornell University in New York. Includes picture, map, sounds, and songs.


The Internet Bird Collection: Black Phoebe.

Black Phoebe videos at the Internet Bird Collection. The IBC is a great
source for birders. The videos are almost always high quality, and the
they are numerous.

Audubon: Black Phoebes

Good source of information

Mango Verde Bird Guide Photos and song for the Black Phoebe

Nice photographs.

Vireo's Photos of Black Phoebes

Very good photographs.

You-Tube Video of a Black Phoebe feeding a fledgling.

Cute.

Black Phoebe Eating A Fish by E.J. Peiker

Check out these amazing photographs by E.J. Peiker--please respect his copyright. There are pictures of a Black Phoebe eating what looks like a fish.

Vermilion Flycatcher and Black Phoebe Feeding on Fish

BRENDA J. ANDREWS, MARIE SULLIVAN, J. DAVID HOERATH (Wilson Bulletin: Vol. 108, No. 2, April-June, 1996)

At El Dorado Nature Center in Long Beach. From my recent walk at the Nature Center.

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Beginning Birders in Orange County

Mourning Dove--Zenaida macroura

I have always liked nature. As a child, I was fascinated by the birds in our San Gabriel Valley backyard. I watched a mockingbird build its nest, listened to mourning doves as I took my nap, and watched the antics of scrub jays in the yard. So, back in 1981, when I was looking through a Coastline College Catalog, and I noticed two unusual classes entitled "Inland Birds" and "Coastal Birds," I was immediately interested. I signed up for both classes and managed to get a friend to sign up for the second one. We both still birdwatch. I have left Orange County and returned and birded the whole time.

Birders in general have always had a reputation for being, well, nerds. Pictures of intelligent, bespectacled, khaki-clad, knobby-kneed people come to mind when birders are mentioned. Yes, some of us are nerds--some of us even wear khaki--but you will find all kinds of people who birdwatch from doctors to motorcyclists and from elementary-age children to grandmas and grandpas. And birders have fun and enjoy the natural world around them.

The benefits of birding in Orange County:

1) Focusing on the beauty of the natural world is revitalizing. It refreshes and relaxes you.

2) You begin to find moments of joy as you go through the day. You spot a bird as you walk across the parking lot at work, and instead of just ignoring it, you appreciate it and know what you're seeing. You smile.

3) You get exercise. You walk, you hike, you breathe fresh air.

4) Anyone can do it. Even the disabled can watch at home or from a car or an accessible pathway. Even the blind can recognize the song of a bird and know its habits.

5) You notice the seasons change. Gosh, do we have seasons in Orange County? Yep, we do. The plants change and the birds around us change plumage, migrate, nest, and raise their young. You appreciate the changing world around you that you never saw before. You appreciate the cycle of life in your world.

6) You learn about plants and animals and gain a sense of appreciation for the world around you and a sense of awe. There is so much more beauty living right around you than you have ever imagined. People sit outside at work smoking and talking on their cell phones not realizing that three kinds of hummingbirds are drinking nectar from the flowers, black phoebes are perched on the tree branches watching for insects, and red-tailed hawks are soaring overhead. Once you bird, a whole new and wonderful world opens up to you. You will be impressed by it.

Birders and their spotting scopes out in the San Jacinto Wildlife Area

I could go on, but you get the idea. So how do you get
started on this great hobby?

1) Get a field guide about birds.



There are lots of them out there and you will want to take one with you. Check out my Bird Guide Reviews .







2) Get yourself some binoculars.

Binoculars help you get a close-up look at the birds. Save the spotting scope for later. Birding optics can get pricey, so shop around. You will want one that helps you see the birds clearly and is easy to have around your neck for a few hours.  The first pair of binoculars I used were a ancient pair of binoculars that my mother-in-law was kind enough to lend me. Unfortunately, they felt like they weighed about 20 pounds and gave me a pain in my neck. Next, I got a much lighter pair of zoom binoculars. Still heavy by today's standards, I use them because they zoom to 20x and help me see a distant bird. Most of the spotting scopes people set up on bird walks are too high for short people like me, so I just zoom my binoculars and see about the same view as everyone else. I also have two pairs of lighter binoculars that don't zoom, but are easier to wear around your neck. I lend them out to nonbirding friends and family I bird with who don't have a pair. I am short and near-sighted so my zoom binoculars are perfect for me. Consider your own sight and comfort before you buy. Sea and Sage Audubon lends out binoculars for birdwatching at their San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary. So you can try a pair out and see how it feels. It will give you an idea of what you might need. There is often someone in their store who can give you some advice. The point is try some out and see what fits for you and your needs.

Sea and Sage Audubon House in Irvine at the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary

3) Get out and be around other birders.

You can check out some of the Orange County birding links on my blog's sidebar for field trips or classes, or check out the Sea and Sage Audubon link. Sea and Sage has several field trips a month. They are free and you don't have to be a member to go, but you might end up joining just for the fun of it. Sea and Sage is where I really learned to bird after my community college classes ended. I met a group of people at Sea and Sage who loved to share their knowledge of birds. And they actually have classes! There is a charge, but these classes are taught by expert birders who will teach you a lot. They even have field trips to exciting places outside Orange County. And they have speakers, events, and a monthly newsletter. Sea and Sage is a good group. I spent 18 years in the San Fernando Valley and came back and there are still great people in Sea and Sage.

The benefits of going on a field trip in Orange County are:

A) It is safer. If you stumble and break your ankle there are people to help you. And you are less likely to get lost in places you have never been. (I was actually on a hike in Los Angeles in which someone did trip and get injured. Luckily, one of the other birders was an MD. There's a lot to be said for some khaki-clad, bespectacled nerds!)


B) There are more people to spot birds you may miss, and so on a field trip, you see more birds. ("Hey, isn't that a Costa's hovering over your head?")


C) People who know much more than you will take the time to teach you about birds and bird watching. They share their binoculars, and spotting scopes. Give mini lessons on how to identify birds in the field. Point out unusual birds to you. You benefit from building up your skills in the field practicing bird watching with seasoned birders.



E) You make new friends. You socialize with great opening lines like, "Is that a yellow-rumped warbler or a yellow-breasted chat?"   "How about those house sparrows?"  As you get out there and bird, you meet people and get to know them. You can even get involved as a volunteer and get to know people even better by volunteering with them.


Those are the basics of birding in Orange County. Birding expands your world, revitalizes your soul, exercises your mind and body, and is just plain fun! Birders enjoy Orange County even more than non-birders because we see so much of the wildlife and natural areas in Orange County. It is a beautiful place. Now you know what to do. See you on the
birding trail!






OC Birder Girl Links




Birding Code of Ethics from American Birding Association



Bird Guide Reviews


About Binoculars



Birding Hot Spots in Orange County, California




Book Review: Good Birders Don't Wear White




The Christmas Bird Count


Muth Interpretive Center at Upper Newport Bay


Orange County Bird Checklists


Parts of a Bird



Pishing




What Birds Eat--Terrestrial Invertebrates





External Links and Resources


Audubon: Birding Basics
What it takes including patience to succeed in birding.










Do you have a question about birding, feeding wild birds, or birds in Orange County? Go to Ask the OC Birder Girl and ask your question.

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