Walks: The Arboretum
including the Mausoleum, Cactus Garden, and Memorial Marsh
The 125-year old Arboretum is divided by Palm Drive. It stretches from El Camino Real to Museum Way. Along the way it encompasses the Mausoleum and Cactus Garden, crosses Campus Drive and takes in Memorial Marsh and vernal pools, which are part of a flood control system.
The Arboretum bird list
The Arboretum contains 25,000 trees in stands of eucalyptus, other century-old native and exotic species, (especially near the Mausoleum) and open, oak-dominated woodland.
The Mausoleum bird list
A cedar-lined mall leads from the intersection of Palm Drive and Campus Drive to the Mausoleum and its surrounding 100-year-old specimen trees, many of which were selected thematically (symbols of heaven, etc.,).
The Cactus Garden bird list
This century-old garden lies next to the Mausoleum. It contains a number of specimen trees (e.g. Yucca) but mainly succulents and cacti.
Memorial Marsh bird list
This wetland lies between Campus Drive and Museum Way, and is bounded by Lausen Street and Palm Drive.
Preening, pencil drawing of a Great Blue Heron by Terry Miller
Birds to look for:high-nesting birds (eg. hawks) and owls in the eucalyptus
seed-eating species within the open, grassy oak woodland;
stalking Great Blue Heron (see drawing, above) within ground-squirrel habitat
woodland species, especially insect-eating species, fruit-eating species, and nectar-eating species among the century-old flowering exotic trees and other vegetation near the Mausoleum and within the Cactus Garden
occasional human commensals and species associated with human-built structures near the Mausoleum
aquatic species and low- or ground-nesting birds in Memorial Marsh
Spotted Towhee, Cedar Waxwing, Bewick's Wren, and Bullock's Oriole photos by Rohan Kamath