Stockton Area
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Description of the Area
The best birding in North Stockton is in the remnant oak groves and adjoining waterways. These latter are the remains of Mosher Slough and the ditches, which are the ends of Bear Creek and Mosher Creek.
How to Get There
On a Stockton city map, trace the waterways that pass through housing and commercial development, and locate the public parks. Gibbon’s Park is at the intersection of Hammer Lane and Alexandria. Dentoni Park is off Davis Rd at the intersection with Wagner Hts. Laughlin Park, along Bear Creek and off Estates Dr west of Thornton Rd, lies adjacent to the west side of Creekside School campus. There are several other parks that feature large, inviting valley oaks that can be good in winter and migration.
Target Birds
Year-round: Acorn, Nuttall’s, and Downy woodpeckers, Yellow-billed Magpie, White-breasted Nuthatch, Northern Mockingbird, Bushtit.
Summer: Black-headed Grosbeak, Bullock’s Oriole.
Migrant: Cassin’s and Warbling vireos, Western Wood-Pewee, Western Flycatcher, Orange-crowned, Nashville, Black-throated Gray, Townsend’s, MacGillivray’s, and Wilson’s warblers, Western Tanager.
Rarities – Winter: Red-breasted Sapsucker, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Varied Thrush.
EBird Hotspot Information
EBird Hotspots
Mosher Creek, Dentoni Park, Laughlin Park, Gibbon’s Park
Birding At the Site
All of these parks consist of small groves of oaks, which have resident woodland birds such as woodpeckers and nuthatches. They are especially good for migrating warblers, vireos, flycatchers, tanagers, and grosbeaks. The parks are small enough that you can wander beneath the canopy at a leisurely pace, paying attention to the birds’ movements in the branches and their vocalizations. Morning visits are best before day users arrive. Security is always an issue, here as in many (sub)urban sites, so be sure to lock your car and be aware of your surroundings.
The diminishing open area to the north and east of the housing developments often provide views of raptors and birds of open spaces. It is instructive to note how development excludes or alters the presence of many bird species.
More Information
Timing: 8:00 AM and 4:30 PM
Parking: Next to the roads or in designated parking spaces near the office
Facilities: Bathrooms and Picnic tables are available at each park.
Accessibility: Wheel Chair Accessible
Dogs: Not Allowed
Bikes: Not Allowed