Date: 4/12/26 10:24 am From: Conor McMahon via groups.io <conormcmahon22...> Subject: [sbcobirding] Santa Ynez River Estuary - Railroad Rebuild
Hi all,
Sorry if this has already been posted and I missed it.
There is apparently a project underway to redesign the old railroad bridge which cuts across the Santa Ynez River Estuary (the bridge between Ocean Park parking lot and the beach). The planners made a survey asking for public input on how people use the park/estuary and what they'd want considered in design:
This is a great opportunity for the community to let them know how important this site is to us for birding. At the least people could reach out to reiterate that birding matters to us; also consider suggesting creative ways to improve birding access here.
For example, I suggested they consider putting a small platform (raised 1 or 2 m) on the edge of the estuary to the west side of the tracks so that we could scope the beach even during plover closures. I think simple solutions like that could be a nice compromise between protections for the birds and birding access.
