San Mateo County Birding Guide by Sequoia Audubon Society - Printed on October 30, 2026

Edgewood County Park

Spring: •••    Summer: ••    Fall: •••    Winter: •••   

Description

Area Habitats
Oak Woodland, Chaparral, Grassland, Serpentine Grasslands

Edgewood County Park contains a rich sampling of three major habitats: oak woodland, chaparral, and grassland. Over 100 species of birds can be found here, including residents and migrants. The greatest number of species at varying seasons can be found in the oak woodland habitat, with fine additions (especially swallows and soaring birds) found in the other major habitats. More than 400 species of plants have been identified within the park. Of interest to botanists are a variety of rare plants: San Mateo Thornmint, Marin Dwarf Flax, Fragrant Fritillary, San Francisco Collinsia, Western Leatherwood and White-rayed Pentacheata. Edgewood County Park is also famous for an endangered butterfly, the Bay Checkerspot. This species' very survival in the park is uncertain (as of 2014); please obey all signs designed to protect serpentine grassland habitat and scientific research on the species.

The park contains 110 acres of serpentine soil that supports grasslands rich in native and endemic species. The grasslands have rich insect populations, and have also served as a breeding site for Western Meadowlarks. Water sources include minor wetlands with permanent springs and seeps. These include tributaries of Cordilleras Creek in the northwest sections of the park, and the source of Laguna Creek along the southwestern edge. Seasonal runoffs provide streams in the winter and spring.

The main entrance to Edgewood County Park, on Old Stage Road off of Edgewood Road just east of I-280, has a nature and visitor's center, which the active and successful Friends of Edgewood Park helped nurture into being. The trails that begin here include two large loops. The Sylvan Trail (the only trail in the park where horses are NOT welcome) is steep in places, but over its two-mile length you will be introduced to many of the park's habitats. The Serpentine Loop takes you around the ridge, that stands out like a tree-capped island, its shores buried in waves of grasslands. The habitat found on the ridge is primarily oak woodland on the north side and top, and chaparral on the south side. The views of San Francisco Bay and Crystal Springs Lake from these trails are spectacular.

There are three minor entrances to the park, as well, that provide a fuller appreciation of the habitats. The Clarkia Trail begins along Cañada Road, just east of I-280. This short trail (.7 miles) ascends quickly, but features some of the best wildflowers and habitat diversity in the park. This trail is often the route taken on the monthly bird walks at Edgewood.

The Clarkia Trail connects to one of the other entrances - the Sunset Gate. This neighborhood entrance has no easy parking near it, located as it is in the "spaghetti" district of Emerald Hills' twisting streets, at the corner of Sunset Way and Hillcrest Way. It does, though, give a birder a quick access to the entire trail system, including the open areas near the ridge most likely to be active during hawk migration.

Another trail entrance can be found on Edgewood Road west of I-280. The Edgewood Trail is a short spur (.6 miles) that connects to the Serpentine Loop trail. There is extensive parking here (but be careful, as auto break-ins have happened here). The Edgewood Trail is especially good for butterflies and insects, and, at an undercrossing of I-280 birders should look for nesting Northern Rough-winged Swallows in spring and summer.

With few exceptions, all of the trails have a 10% gradient. Avoid using closed trails made years ago by motorcycles and off-road vehicles, since these areas are still regenerating. Don't add to erosion!

Some of the flora round on the ridge are:

• Trees: Pacific Madrone, Valley Oak, Live Oak, Silk Tassel, Scrub Oak, Buckeye, California Bays
• Understory: Poison Oak!!!, Coffee Berry, Honeysuckle, Toyon, bedstraw, snowberry
• Chaparral: Chamise, Coyote Brush, monkeyflower, Pitcher Sage, California Broom, Ceanothus
• Grasses: Brome grass, stipa, California Oatgrass, Squirreltail, Quaking grass
• Others: ferns, lichens, mosses, fungi

Viewed from the ridge from March to May, the grasslands below provide an annual display of spring flowers of exceptional beauty. Allow at least two to three hours for one of the loop trails.

Look For These Birds

Year-round species include:
Canada Goose, Mallard (mainly fly-over), California Quail, Double-crested Cormorant (fly-over), Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Green Heron (uncommon), Turkey Vulture, Osprey (fly-over), White-tailed Kite, Cooper's Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, California Gull (fly-over),Band-tailed Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Anna's Hummingbird, Barn Owl, Great Horned Owl, Western Screech-Owl, Acorn Woodpecker, Northern Pygmy-Owl (rare at this location), Red-breasted Sapsucker, Northern Flicker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Nuttall's Woodpecker, American Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon (uncommon here), Black Phoebe, California Scrub-Jay, Steller's Jay, Common Raven, American Crow, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Oak Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Pygmy Nuthatch, Bushtit, Brown Creeper, Wrentit, Bewick's Wren, Northern Mockingbird, California Thrasher (one of the most dependable spots in the county for this bird), American Robin, Western Bluebird, European Starling, Hutton's Vireo, California Towhee, Spotted Towhee, Dark-eyed Junco, Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, Lazuli Bunting, Western Meadowlark, Brewer's Blackbird, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Purple Finch, House Finch, Red Crossbill (uncommon at this location), Pine Siskin, American Goldfinch, Lesser Goldfinch, House Sparrow

Spring and summer species include:
Caspian Tern (fly-over), Forster's Tern (fly-over), Allen's Hummingbird, Vaux's Swift (uncommon), White-throated Swift (uncommon), Olive-sided Flycatcher, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Western Wood-Pewee, Warbling Vireo, Cassin's Vireo (migration), Tree Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, Bank Swallow (uncommon), Barn Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, House Wren, Pacific Wren (rare at this location), Swainson's Thrush, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Orange-crowned Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, MacGillivray's Warbler (uncommon here), Yellow Warbler (migration), Black-headed Grosbeak, Grasshopper Sparrow, Western Tanager (migrant), Bullock's Oriole, Hooded Oriole

Winter species include:
Sharp-shinned Hawk, Northern Harrier, Ring-billed Gull (fly-over, uncommon), Glaucous-winged Gull, Western Gull, Say's Phoebe, Red-breasted Nuthatch (irruptive years), Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Hermit Thrush, Varied Thrush, Cedar Waxwing, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Townsend's Warbler, Hermit Warbler (uncommon), Golden-crowned Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Fox Sparrow.

Rarities Seen Here

In this guide, "rarities" are defined as those species given an County Abundance Code of 4, 5, or 6.

Wild Turkey, Bald Eagle (2015), Golden Eagle (2013), Rufous Hummingbird (2016), Pileated Woodpecker (2016), Merlin, Willow Flycatcher (2012), Western Kingbird (many years), Loggerhead Shrike (2013), Purple Martin (2017), Sage Thrasher (2022), American Redstart (2015), Chipping Sparrow (2012), Lark Sparrow (2011, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2019), Clay-colored Sparrow (2013), White-throated Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow (2009), Rose-breasted Grosbeak (2022, in Emerald Hills neighborhood)

Directions

There are three entrances to the park: Sunset Way; Edgewood Road west of Interstate 280; and the Old Stage Day Camp entrance on the south side of Edgewood Road adjacent to Crestview Drive. The best entrance to the ridge trail is at the junction of Sunset Way and Hillcrest Way. Take Jefferson Avenue west from El Camino Real in Redwood City. Watch for Jefferson to turn right sharply at Farm Hill Boulevard. After making the turn, proceed about 1.8 miles and turn right on California Way. (Look for the firehouse on the corner). Park at the junction of Sunset Way and Hillcrest Way. Walk past the PG&E substation to the locked service road gate. The entrance is adjacent to the gate. Follow the service road to the right, where San Francisco Bay can be seen. The trail starts on the left. Other access points are marked on the map.

Fees

There are now no fees for parking at Edgewood County Park.

Hazards

Just the usual: ticks, and possibly mountain lions and rattlesnakes. Among plants, as noted, there is plenty of poison oak. The park can be quite crowded on weekends, especially in spring. The early birder sees the bird!

Facilities

The park has some facilities at the Edgewood Road entrance, including picnic areas. There are no facilities at the Sunset entrance.

Contact

Edgewood Park's phone number is 650-368-6283.

Avian Research Status

"Edgewood Park" is a hotspot on eBird; the species list for the park on eBird stands at 129, with data in all forty-eight time quadrants! Continue to record your sightings for this environmentally crucial park in eBird.

Edgewood has been the site of a major Bluebird Box Project, which Sequoia Audubon co-sponsors with the Friends of Edgewood. The program has been a great success, and there are always opportunities for new monitors (of all ages) to get involved. Contact Sequoia Audubon at 650-529-1454 or by email at office@sequoia-audubon.org.

"Edgewood County Park" is a 'place' on iNaturalist, with nearly 600 entries of species from all taxa. Check it out here.

There have been 119 field trips to this site by Sequoia Audubon, making it by far the most-visited field trip hotspot. Field trips here started in the early 80s and have flourished throughout the 2010s--from 2013 on, there have been multiple Sequoia field trips a year to this location. As a result, there is an abundance of data on eBird.