Moonglow Dairy is private property and a working commercial dairy. Birders currently have access by permission of the owner. This could change at any time. In 2023, access was limited to Friday through Sunday only because of wetland restoration on adjacent property. Aside from this restriction, birders have had access to Moonglow for 40 years (since 1983). Everything you need to know about birding at Moonglow, and various restrictions and rules, are in the link above "Birding at Moonglow Dairy." 

Moonglow is a working dairy so you must not interfere with dairy operations, and visitors should park at the eucalyptus grove.  Access is via a dirt entrance road at 357 Dolan Road. Turn left at the first cattle pen, go the T intersection at the west end, and turn right to dead-end in the parking area by the eucalyptus grove. All the roads are dirt and they get very muddy when it has rained. Please do not visit Moonglow when the roads are muddy, and do not risk getting stuck. You will be faced with major problems in getting your vehicle pulled out of this private property.

At times, this Hotspot was renamed "Moonglow Dairy (Fri-Sun only; no access Mon-Thur)." Those closures during the week were due to anticipated marsh restoration work west of Moonglow, requiring heavy machinery to be using Moonglow roads in winter 2022-2023.  See the map showing the roads that the machinery would be using — presenting a danger to visitors — when the project gets underway again, potentially in fall 2023 into winter  2024.  When that project is underway again, you should expect those week-day closures to be in effect again.

As a working dairy, with many cows in pens and much feed in troughs, it attracts hordes of blackbirds, starlings, cowbirds, and pigeons. In fall and winter, large numbers of Tricolored Blackbirds are among these flocks; numbers dip dramatically during spring and early summer (but in some years, "Trikes" have also nested in the reeds by the freshwater ponds). Moonglow is excellent for raptors, with Golden Eagle in small numbers year-round, as are Peregrine Falcon, White-tailed Kite, and Northern Harrier. Shorebirds and ducks on pond #1 (westernmost pond) and ducks in pond #2, with numbers increasing in winter. With a scope an observer has extensive views of tidal Elkhorn Slough, with an ever-changing plethora of cormorants, pelicans, gulls, terns, waders, grebes, loons, the occasional alcid, and annual vagrants like Black Skimmer.  Pond #1 is especially famous for vagrants that are attracted to a freshwater pond adjacent to a tidal slough. This makes Moonglow uniquely situated to host scarce shorebirds in early fall migration (Aug-Sep): Pectoral, Baird's, Solitary, and Semipalmated Sandpipers (rare) are recorded annually, and there are multiple record over the years of vagrant Ruff, Stilt, and Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, and even Little Stint (first state record in 1985). A wide variety of passerine migrants have occurred in flowering hedges, willow patches, and in the eucalyptus grove.

The borders of the Moonglow Diary Hotspot are shown in red on the adjacent map.  These are the practical borders for birders, and don't match any specific property boundaries.  For example, the eucalyptus grove in the northwest corner of the Hotspot is now managed by Elkhorn Slough Foundation [there are rough trails through the eucalyptus grove but winter storms often create fallen trees, and trails can be blocked by downed trees for months.] The California Department of Fish & Wildlife owns property and/or easements in and around adjacent Hester Marsh. The historical "pond #3" at Moonglow is now dry and partially restored as marsh (in the extreme northeast corner). Some land south of Dolan Road is owned by Moonglow Dairy, but are not open to the public and are not part of this birding Hotspot. 

While within the Moonglow Dairy Hotspot, eBird wants you to include all species seen from the Hotspot, including waterfowl on Elkhorn Slough, waders in Hester Marsh, and raptors on the hills beyond Elkhorn Slough. [Elkhorn Slough itself is a separate Hotspot if you are doing an Elkhorn Slough Safari boat trip, or paddling a kayak or using your own boat. So there is much overlap in birding coverage for Elkhorn Slough.] 

Dolan Road is the border on the south side of Moonglow Dairy Hotspot. Because of the topography, you cannot see birds in Moro Cojo Slough while within the Moonglow Dairy Hotspot. You will be in the adjacent Hot Spot to the south — called "Moro Cojo Slough and/or field to Moro Cojo, south of Dolan Rd." — if you are on the south side of Dolan Road and can see Moro Cojo Slough.