Parkside Aquatic Park, San Mateo

Spring Summer Fall Winter

Parkside Aquatic Park, looking southeast, February 2020 (Simon Westley). The sand spit visible at the lower right hand edge is the beach where the gulls congregate.

Description

Area Habitats
Brackish Lagoon, Sandy Shoreline, Suburban

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Parkside Aquatic is a small "pocket park" along the canals of San Mateo and Foster City. It is a compressed version of a full Bayside shoreline. A few uncommon and rare birds have made appearances here. This user-friendly park is best on weekdays; it is quite crowded on sunny weekends. It is also the site of the only boat launch in the city of San Mateo. There are concession stands open in the summer months. A playground makes the location kid (-and-parent) friendly.

Located along Seal Slough, this is a particularly rich section of canal, with Barrow's Goldeneye occasional in winter, and Green Heron often at the southern tip near the boathouse. It is a good site for gulls--a Lesser Black-backed Gull was seen in 2018, and there are often large numbers of the usual suspects. Suburban houses bordering the park ensure some passerine variety. Nuttall's Woodpecker is often around the northwest corner. Parkside Aquatic Park is much longer than it is wide, which, given canal access, is good for increasing the species list of waterfowl in winter. The park is a good third of a mile long, and the shape of the canal, plus the openness provided by the beach, provide the best sightlines of any canal access in San Mateo and Foster City. This results in remarkably extensive species lists, even on a casual visit. Because it is a site much used by humans, the birds are somewhat acclimated to disruption, and will take you into their confidence. This makes Parkside Aquatic a great location for beginning birders (of any age) - the birds are visible, audible, ever-changing, approachable and photographable. The abundance of picnic tables also makes this an ideal stop for a lunch break on a Big Day - you might even add a species or two.

Look For These Birds

Canada Goose, Northern Shoveler, Mallard, Canvasback, Greater Scaup, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Barrow's Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser, Common Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Pied-billed Grebe, Western Grebe, Eared Grebe, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, White-throated Swift, Anna's Hummingbird, Allen's Hummingbird, American Coot, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Black-bellied Plover, Killdeer, Least Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, Greater Yellowlegs, Bonaparte's Gull (uncommon at this location), Short-billed Gull (uncommon at this location), Ring-billed Gull, Western Gull, California Gull, Herring Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Caspian Tern, Forster's Tern, Black Skimmer (uncommon at this location), Double-crested Cormorant, American White Pelican, Brown Pelican, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Green Heron, Black-crowned Night-heron, Turkey Vulture, Cooper's Hawk, Belted Kingfisher, Nuttall's Woodpecker, Black Phoebe, Say's Phoebe, Hutton's Vireo, American Crow, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Oak Titmouse, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Tree Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, Barn Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Bushtit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bewick's Wren, European Starling, American Robin, House Sparrow, House Finch, American Goldfinch, Lesser Goldfinch, Dark-eyed Junco, Golden-crowned Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, California Towhee, Yellow-rumped Warbler

Rarities Seen Here

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

Redhead (2021), Lesser Black-backed Gull (2018)

Directions

1595 Seal St., San Mateo, CA 94403. From South Norfolk Street in San Mateo, turn east on Roberta Drive, until you see the small turnoff for Seal St. The park is immediately available to you, with parking to both the right and the left of the entrance. Very close to the intersection of US 101 and SR 92.

Interactive Map

Fees

No fees for use of park (except for reservable picnic areas if you want to party.)

Hours

Sunrise to sunset.

Hazards

No lifeguard on duty; crowds and noise in summer. Dogs are allowed in this park.

Facilities

Two restroom areas--small one on Northern end and large one by boat launch area, playground, boat launch, swim areas in summer, picnic areas (some reservable for a fee, others drop-in), ample parking.

Accessibility

  Accessibility information is currently not available for this location.

Contact

City of San Mateo Parks and Recreation Department, 650-522-7400

Links

• Official site for the park

Avian Research Status

• eBird hotspot descriptive site
• Though this is a relatively new hotspot, data already exists in 20 of 48 time quadrants. Go forth, birders, and fill in the rest!
• iNaturalist place marker

Additional Photos

Say's Phoebe, January 2019 (Jennifer Rycenga)

Lesser Black-backed Gull, April 2018 (Malia DeFelice)

Barrow's Goldeneye male, January 2019. Note how the white marks on stand out against the velvety black of the bird's back. When a bird is hiding some of its head features, like this one is, this can be a better diagnostic mark than the crescent on the face. (Jennifer Rycenga)

Hooded Merganser female, February 2020 (Jennifer Rycenga)