San Mateo County Birding Guide by Sequoia Audubon Society - Printed on October 30, 2026
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Creek Avenue is a heavily-wooded residential street in Menlo Park, along San Francisquito Creek, the boundary between San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. Locals use the area for walking, jogging, and dog-walking. There are no sidewalks, and this is an active (and narrow) roadway. The creek does not run all year; however, the riparian zone formed by the wooded areas on the south side of the street create rich habitat, much loved by woodpeckers, warblers, migrants, and passerines generally.
Creek Avenue came to prominence for local birders with the 2009 fall appearance of a most cooperative Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, discovered by Joanne Lazar. However, local residents and CBC participants in the area have long known of the riches and potential of this area. From a county birding standpoint, birds seen along the creek often cross between the two counties, which means that a rarity can appear in both!
The length of Creek Drive, from El Camino Real to Arbor, is a half-mile, making for a very pleasant walk. It is easier to park at the Arbor end of the road, on Arbor itself. From here, walking about a quarter of a mile east will take you to a railing across a footpath, which leads down to the creek level (between Yale and University).
Because this is a long-time residential neighborhood, there are some impressive trees. The habitat mixes riparian and woodlands, with a predominance of oak. As a result, many of the oak-habitat species can be expected, such as Oak Titmouse, Nuttall's Woodpecker, and Acorn Woodpecker.
Mallard, Hooded Merganser, Common Merganser (rare at this location), Wood Duck (rare at this location), California Quail (uncommon here), Rock Pigeon, Band-tailed Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Anna's Hummingbird, Vaux's Swift, Spotted Sandpiper (very unusual at this location), California Gull, Caspian Tern, Great Blue Heron, Black-crowned Night-heron, Cooper's Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Belted Kingfisher, Western Screech-Owl, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Acorn Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Nuttall's Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, Black Phoebe, Hutton's Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Steller's Jay, Common Raven, American Crow, California Scrub-Jay, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Oak Titmouse, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Tree Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, Bushtit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Red-breasted Nuthatch, White-breasted Nuthatch, Pygmy Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Bewick's Wren, European Starling, California Thrasher, Northern Mockingbird, Western Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, American Robin, Cedar Waxwing, House Sparrow, American Pipit (rare at this location), House Finch, Purple Finch, Pine Siskin, American Goldfinch, Lesser Goldfinch, Fox Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Golden-crowned Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Spotted Towhee, California Towhee, Nashville Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, MacGillivray's Warbler (migration), Townsend's Warbler, Western Tanager (migration), Bullock's Oriole (rare), Hooded Oriole
In this guide, "rarities" are defined as those species given an County Abundance Code of 4, 5, or 6.
Golden Eagle (2019), Solitary Sandpiper, Rufous Hummingbird (2011), Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (2009, 2010, 2011), White-throated Sparrow (2018)
If you are traveling south along El Camino Real (SR82) in Menlo Park, Creek Road is the last street on your right before the bridge over San Francisquito Creek; there is even a sign right there indicating that you are entering Santa Clara County! Coming from I-280, take the Sand Hill Road exit, go east on Sand Hill Road past the Stanford Shopping Mall, then take a left on El Camino Real (SR 82). At the first light after that, make a u-turn at Cambridge
There are no fees associated with walking along this street.
Daylight
Traffic is the principal hazard here. Do nothing to disturb the residents in the neighborhood. While they are used to pedestrians and dog-walkers using the street, birders should do nothing that residents find upsetting, such as walking into yards or driveways, parking in ways that obstruct local traffic, or being loud early in the morning.
There are no facilities here other than convenient garbage cans located at major intersections. However, this site is virtually contiguous with the Stanford Mall, where every comfort, at every level of luxury known to human kind, can be purchased, so you are not distant from the call of civilization. Because this is a residential neighborhood, though, do avoid answering the call of nature!
There is no official entity to contact about the site. If you see vandalism or damage to the road, you can contact the Menlo Park Public Works Department at 650-330-6780.
This site is a hotspot in eBird under the name "Arbor Rd. at Creek Dr." There is data for 17 of 48 quadrants, with 70 species represented. The site is deserving of visits even without a rarity to draw people there; please remember to enter your sightings into the growing eBird database.
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