Esplanade Park in a public park in Pacific Grove east of Pt. Pinos and west of Otter & Lovers Points.  Although the park lies WSW to NNE, it is easiest to think of its north end at Ocean View Blvd (on Monterey Bay), its south end at Shell Ave., with Esplanade St. being the street on both the west and east side of the three-block-long park. The park has groves of Monterey Pines and cypresses, attractive to passerine migrants, mostly in the fall. The larger Hot Spot includes the surrounding neighborhoods of (mostly) single-family residences.

The map shows the "traditional" Esplanade Park vicinity (red boundary) and the now-expanded "eBird" boundary of these neighborhoods (orange boundary). It that 'big picture,' the primary boundaries are Coral, Crest, and Siren. Please protect the privacy of residents by avoiding looking into homes while searching for birds while walking the streets.

Parking is free on the streets but do no block driveways. Many residents have been friendly; some have feeders that attract many White-crowned & Golden-crowned Sparrows in fall/winter, and also occasional rarities (e.g., Green-tailed Towhee, White-winged Dove).

Many of the homes within the Hot Spot limits have flowering or fruiting bushes and trees, which also attract landbird migrants in spring and fall. Flowering bottlebrush and red poker plants (Kniphofia) are particularly prone to attract orioles, tanagers, hummingbirds, and nectar-feeding warblers, including Orange-crowned (regular), Nashville (scarce), and Cape May (quite rare) among them. Over the years, in fall, other rarities include Tropical Kingbird on power lines, raptors overhead, Yellow-green & Philadelphia Vireos, and Black-throated Blue Warbler.