Stulsaft Park

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Stulsaft Park, along Farm Ridge Road, April 2012 (Jennifer Rycenga)

Description

Area Habitats
Mixed Woodland, Riparian, Chaparral, Suburban

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The park features a fine playground for young children, bathroom facilities, some garbage bins along the trail, a small stream that provides some riparian, but limited parking. The trails at this multi-use park (dogs on leash are allowed) are surprisingly steep (though not dramatically so). The trail system has a few bridges down, so executed a full loop here may require getting your shoes wet. However, despite these small drawbacks, this park is worth the attention of local birders. The mixed oak woodland at the back entrance often features flocks of small passerines, including Brown Creeper, Oak Titmouse, and a variety of warblers. This area is a wonderful spot for a birder's picnic in the middle of a big county day!

The 42-acre park is bisected length-wise by the Ojo de Agua Creek. The land is named for the donor, real-estate developer Morris Stulsaft, who gave this park to Redwood City in 1951.

Look For These Birds

Canada Goose, California Quail, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, Green Heron (rare here), Turkey Vulture, White-tailed Kite, Sharp-shinned Hawk (uncommon at this location), Cooper's Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Killdeer, California Gull, Western Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Caspian Tern (flyover), Rock Pigeon, Band-tailed Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Anna's Hummingbird, Great Horned Owl, Western Screech-Owl, Belted Kingfisher, Acorn Woodpecker, Nuttall's Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Peregrine Falcon (rare), Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Black Phoebe, Hutton's Vireo, Warbling Vireo (uncommon at this location), Cassin's Vireo (uncommon migrant), Steller's Jay, Western Scrub-Jay, American Crow, Common Raven, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Oak Titmouse, Violet-green Swallow, Bushtit, White-breasted Nuthatch, Pygmy Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, House Wren, Bewick's Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (uncommon, spring-summer), Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Wrentit, Western Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, American Robin, Varied Thrush, Northern Mockingbird, California Thrasher (uncommon), Cedar Waxwing, American Pipit, Orange-crowned Warbler, MacGillivray's Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Yellow Warbler (migration), Townsend's Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Spotted Towhee, California Towhee, Song Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, House Finch, Purple Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, American Goldfinch, Hooded Oriole, Western Tanager, House 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 (2019 flyover), Swainson's Hawk (2013, contiguous neighborhood), Townsend's Solitaire (2022, 2023), Black-and-White Warbler (2013)

Directions

The easiest access point for the park is along Farm Hill Boulevard (which is the same road as Jefferson, central to downtown Redwood City). Parking is along the road. Be careful crossing Farm Hill Road. One can also walk in to the trail system from Mitchell Way or from Foothill Street.

To reach the riparian/mixed oak woodland is a tad more complicated. From Farm Hill Boulevard, turn onto McGarvey Avenue, then right on Fernside, and right on Goodwin. There is an entrance to the park just past the corner with Mitchell Way; it is clearly marked. Parking on-street is possible here, especially since this entrance is not well-known. (Fernside can be accessed from Woodside Road [SR 84] near Alameda de las Pulgas, from the other side).

Interactive Map

Fees

There are no fees associated with birding Stulsaft Park.

Hours

Officially sunrise to sunset.

Hazards

Mountain Lions have been spotted in Stulsaft Park, in addition to the more pedestrian concerns such as poison oak and ticks.

Facilities

There are rest rooms near the playground, just off of Farm Hill Boulevard. Picnic tables and barbeque pits are available. There is a swimming pool area, which operates in the warmer months; see the official website for more information.

Accessibility

  Accessibility information is currently not available for this location.

Contact

Redwood City Parks and Recreation can be reached at 650-780-7311.

Links

• The official Redwood City Parks website for Stulsaft can be found here. It contains information on the playground and pool features of the park, which may be of interest to birder-parents visiting this site.
• The Morris Stulsaft Foundation, established by the same man who donated the land for this park to Redwood City, assists projects to help Bay Area youth.

Avian Research Status

Stulsaft Park is a hotspot in eBird, with eighty-nine species covering all forty-eight time quadrants. The eBird information page on this hotspot can be found here. Get out there and eBird, birders!

Stulsaft Park was the site of a miniature BioBlitz as part of the City Nature Challenge in April, 2019. You can view the results here. The iNaturalist place page can be found here.

The California endemic plant, Fountain Thistle (Cirsium fontinale) is known in Serpentine soils at Stulsaft Park. Grassroots Ecology includes this park among their projects.

Sequoia Audubon Society has held four field trips to this park, mostly in the 2010s. It is an easy park for a good introduction to local birding.

Additional Photos

House Finch, Stulsaft Park, August 2016 (Jennifer Rycenga)

While Stulsaft has an official trail system, it is irregularly marked. April 2012 (Jennifer Rycenga)

Stulsaft has some open grassy areas in its habitat mix. April 2012 (Jennifer Rycenga)

This picture shows one of the creeks that lacks a bridge crossing. April 2012 (Jennifer Rycenga)