Rancho Guadalupe Dunes Preserve, including Santa Maria River Estuary (SBA Co.)

Rancho Guadalupe Dunes Preserve, including Santa Maria River Estuary (SBA Co.)

County Parks Website
The Dunes Center website
Guadalupe Dunes National Wildlife Refuge webpage

Tips for Birding

Rancho Guadalupe Dunes Preserve-Santa Maria River Estuary is a good birding spot during all months of the year. The peak of bird activity is during fall migration and in winter, and for a period during spring migration. A spotting scope is helpful. From the parking lot walk north along the beach to reach the river estuary. You can approach the shoreline near the mouth and set up a spotting scope to look through the waterfowl, gulls, pelicans, and numerous shorebirds that use the estuary for feeding, resting, and bathing. The adventurous can walk the length of the beach to the south to reach Mussel Rock. This is a strenuous 4-mile round-trip hike in the sand. Some interesting birds can be found as you near the point (Black Oystercatcher, Wandering Tattler), but it is a long walk. You can also walk north along the beach into the Nipomo-Guadalupe Dunes NWR. Scoping offshore closer to the parking lot can be good for gulls, terns, jaegers, shearwaters, scoters, grebes, and the occasional alcid beyond the surf. Keep an eye out for whales, pinnipeds, and Sea Otters. Dolphins are occasionally spotted very close to shore. Lighting is best in the morning for viewing offshore.

Birds of Interest

The entire area is ecologically significant with relatively undisturbed estuarine habitat which is rare anywhere along the California coast. When the river mouth is flooded - which is much of the year - bird activity can be somewhat reduced. When water levels are lower and there is exposed mud the bird diversity is much greater, especially during migration in spring and fall. Late spring and early summer is generally the slowest time for birding.

Hundreds of Brown Pelicans roost on the estuary shoreline along with scores of gulls and terns beginning in mid-summer. These birds will fly in and out of the ocean. American White Pelicans are also found here but numbers vary from year to year. Unusual breeding species include Redhead and Eared Grebe. Watch for Peregrine Falcon, Least Tern, Osprey, migrating swallows, Horned Lark, Savannah Sparrow, and “Nuttall’s” White-crowned Sparrow.

The list of rarities is impressive and includes Eurasian Wigeon, Tundra Swan, Black Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, Sandhill Crane, Reddish Egret, Red-necked Stint, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Little Curlew, Mountain Plover, Glaucous Gull, and Nelson’s Sparrow. Pelagic rarities spotted offshore include murrelets, Manx Shearwater, Brown Booby, Sabine’s Gull, and Northern Fulmar.

About this Location

This location is known by a few different names: Rancho Guadalupe Dunes Preserve (or County Park), Guadalupe Beach, and Santa Maria River Estuary. Guadalupe Dunes Preserve is located 3 miles west of the town of Guadalupe on West Main Street (Highway 166) View Map. Park hours are 7:00 AM to sunset. The entry kiosk is rarely attended but when the gate is open proceed to the beach parking lot at the end of the road (2.5 miles). Use the separate available Hotspot for birding the road near the entrance gate: Rancho Guadalupe Dunes Preserve - - from entrance to sand plant (not for beach/ocean). Please keep bird lists separate between the willow-riparian habitat near the gated entrance from birds found at the beach, estuary, and offshore due to differences in habitat.

A county park attendant is usually present at the parking lot. Parking or stopping a car along the entrance road is not permitted. Do not wander into the dunes beyond the roped-off fence line next to the road. From the beach parking lot, you can walk north or south on the beach, or inland next to the ocean side of the estuary shoreline except during the Snowy Plover / Least Tern nesting season (March 1 – September 30 each year). During the plover and tern breeding season, the inland dunes and estuary are off-limits and marked by a rope, which will usually come down several days before the actual end of the season.

Hotspot boundaries: The stretch of beach near the Santa Maria River Estuary (north), inland shoreline and willow-riparian habitat of the estuary (east), the stretch of beach and dunes to Mussel Point (south), offshore viewing distance limit (west)

The gate is closed on Monday mornings for road maintenance and sand removal but usually reopens by 12:00 PM. During holidays, summer weekends, or during periods of good fishing or surfing the parking lot will fill up early and the gate may be closed. When one vehicle exits, another will be permitted through.

Fall and winter can be very pleasant with clear skies and mild to cool temperatures. During summer the area may remain overcast with fog all day, sometimes quite dense early in the morning with poor visibility until it burns off. During spring it is typically very windy (March to June).

San Luis Obispo County begins beyond the estuary to the north. For the purposes of county listing, a separate Hotspot named Santa Maria River estuary (SLO Co.) is available, but not required when birding the preserve Hotspot as the habitat is considered uniform. It is difficult to stop one list and start another just to submit birds for each side of the arbitrary county line because this is not well defined by physical features of the habitat. See the Hotspot boundary map for the estimated location of the county line. Also, be aware that the northern portion of the estuary is private property and a restoration area in what is considered SLO County. This section is marked by signs.

Features

  • Restrooms on site

  • Roadside viewing

  • Wheelchair accessible trail

  • Entrance fee

Content from Jamie Chavez

Last updated March 23, 2024

Suggested Rancho Guadalupe Dunes Preserve (Santa Maria River Estuary SBA Co.) Hotspot Boundaries
Jamie Chavez
San Luis Obispo/Santa Barbara County Line