Birding
at San Joaquin Wildlife Marsh dates back over 100 years
when this area was private duck hunting club. These days
the only bird shooting is with cameras not shot guns. The
duck club building on site was originally from the Tustin
Air Base duck hunting club, not from the San Joaquin Marsh.
By the early 1960s, only two of these clubs remained: the
20-Ranch and the Old San Joaquin. In the mid-1980s, as the
Irvine area population increased and the city began filling
in, hunting ceased, and the former duck hunting clubs and
water treatment settlement ponds adjacent to the banks of
San Diego Creek once again became a sanctuary for migratory
waterfowl.
Plan on spending at least one hour here, longer if your
a bird watcher or you just want to sit back and relax and
enjoy nature. Parking and admission is free. Donations are
welcome and can dropped off at the Audubon House. There
are a couple of picnic tables near the entrance plus restrooms.
San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary located
adjacent to the UC Irvine campus upstream from upper Newport
Bay 5 Riparian View, Irvine CA 92616
Access road to Audubon House, the Duck Club and the San
Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary changed you now enter from Campus
Drive instead of from Michelson. Dogs and other pets - leashed
or unleashed - are not permitted on the property.
The sanctuary is free to the public and open from dawn to
dusk,
seven days a week |
