BerkeleyBackYardBirding in Live Oak Park & Other Nearby Nature Parks

Redwood grove along the creek

OK, so technically it's not my backyard,

but a five-minute walk there ain't half bad.

Dogs love to splash and play in the creek

Long considered one of Berkeley's premier urban sanctuaries – an original "Nature Park" – Live Oak Park contains within a few modest acres magnificent Oaks, stately Redwoods, elegant Pine and sweeping Bay trees.

Codornices Creek's gentle beauty

Add in the kicker of a year-round flowing creek – miraculous in its simple beauty and charm! – and you've got a place deserving of a resounding WOW!

Codornices Creek after heavy rains

A place where wild creatures, unfazed by urban distractions,

carry on in their natural rhythms:

Jay feathers

Skunks, possums, rats, lizards, dragonflies, snakes, frogs, deer, coyotes and mountain lions (at night), and, of course, birds by the dozens.

Young buck resting near the creek

Live Oak Park is a place to gravitate to easily, whether your thing is lounging on sunny lawns, picnicking in shady groves, playing with your dog and kids in the gently burbling creek, or wandering aimlessly watching for birds in the park's varied avian habitat.

Snooze time in the park

On routine outings, I've spotted more varieties of birds in Live Oak Park than in non-urban redoubts in the Berkeley Hills and beyond!

My little Chickadee

A sampling of over 30 different birds in the past couple of years:

Alluring creek and woodsy environment

Brown Creeper / Pacific-slope Flycatcher /

Willow Flycatcher / Chestnut-backed Chickadees . . .

Dark-eyed Junco gathering nest material

Pink-sided, Slate & Dark-eyed Juncos /

Steller's & Scrub Jays / Black Phoebe / Hermit Thrush . . .

Wilson's Warbler baring black crown

Wilson's Warbler / Yellow-rumped Warbler /

Townsend's Warbler / California Towhee / Spotted Towhee . . .

Juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk

House Finch / Anna's & Rufous Hummingbirds /

Sharp-shinned & Cooper's Hawks / Red-tailed Hawk . . .

Perky little Oak Titmouse

Vulture / Lesser Goldfinch / Oak Titmouse /

Ruby-crowned Kinglet / American Crow . . .

Cedar Waxwing mob roosting in tree

American Robin / Bushtit / Bewick's Wren / Cedar Waxwings . . .

Curious Bewick's Wren

Sparrows known & unknown /

Sapsuckers & Downy & Ladderback Woodpeckers . . .

Scarlet Macaw @ Live Oak Park

And, not to be forgotten, a gorgeous Scarlet Macaw,

whose proud owner let me photograph to my heart's content.

Beautiful feathers of Scarlet Macaw

Over the past few months, these and other birds show up in the park's venerable Interior and Canyon Live Oak, to delight, enchant and offer up one cool sighting after another in our bird friendly urban park.

Junco after a refreshing dip in the creek

One day it's a frisky Pacific-sloped Flycatcher, dripping wet and shaking off from a dip in the creek.

Natural bird bath for the Flycatcher

Another day, a Hermit (Wood?) Thrush frozen on a branch for a perfect, unobstructed viewing pleasure.

Anna's Hummingbird sucking nectar

And last week, an Anna's Hummingbird pausing (and posing) just long enough for a couple of personable snapshots of the hard to photograph bird.

Late after reflective beauty on the creek

Recently, I watched as the diminutive, elusive creature flew in to her carefully concealed nest, constructed in a wedge of supportive branches over Codornices Creek on a daylighted stretch of creek side property belonging to the Jewish Community Center.

Anna's Hummingbird in nesting repose

For many days, I watched her zip invisibly in for a smooth landing on the tiny nest, but never saw any young 'uns, and eventually, she disappeared completely.

Pretty Townsend's Warbler

But, they know and love the place,

so they always return.

Pacific-slope Flycatcher resident of the park

Just like me, to Live Oak Park where to witness our feathered friends in their natural habitats and rhythms is to partake in a simple joy of recognizing the many wondrous, small miracles in our midst.

Red-shouldered Hawk eyeing a potential meal

Never to be taken for granted,

underappreciated or overlooked.

Boy exploring intricacies of creek

Read more bird-related posts to discover Berkeley's "Nature Park" gems

providing urban recreational experiences & sanctuaries

for birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles & humans:

BACKYARD / URBAN BIRDING (July 23, 2013)

BIRD WALKABOUT IN THE BERKELEY HILLS PARKS (December 10, 2013)

AVIAN HAVENS & REFUGES IN BERKELEY CITY PARKS (January 3, 2014)

UNSEEN BIRDS, INFINITE, HIDDEN WELL (May 17, 2015)

JOHN HINKEL PARK BIRDBATH SPRING (August 23, 2015)

EXTRAORDINARY ORDINARY URBAN BIRDS (April 24, 2016)

URBAN PARK SIGHTING OF PALM WARBLER (February 11, 2019)

ESSAYS & MUSINGS ON THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF BIRDS

Redwood branch over creek

Enjoy a walkabout with Gambolin' Man in two of Berkeley's charming, bird-rich parks:

HOMAGE TO CODORNICES CREEK (2009)

LIVE OAK PARK'S CHARM & MAGIC (2011)

Red-shouldered Hawk
perched on wire
near Live Oak Park

Bonus videos of beloved parks & creeks in North Berkeley:

WALKABOUTS & BIRDING ALONG CODORNICES CREEK

WALKABOUTS IN JOHN HINKEL PARK

Junco
resting atop
church cross