Seeing ducks (and geese!) in San Diego is a fun way to interact with nature. If you’re new or visiting San Diego (or even if you’ve been here awhile!), I hope you find this list of places to see ducks in San Diego helpful!
Safety Tips
Before I get into where you can see ducks and what they like to eat, I want to give some safety tips (for both your safety and the safety of the ducks!).
- Birds can be aggressive (especially larger waterfowl such as geese), so be careful if they come too close.
- Ducks are generally harmless, but keep an eye on your children so they don’t get surrounded or overwhelmed… not because they can get hurt, more because your child might get scared.
- Ducks need food in bite-sized pieces so they don’t choke.
- Don’t put out extra food for ducks, because at that point you’ll probably just attract rodents with the food.
- Don’t litter because trash can be very dangerous to birds.
What to Feed Ducks
I was recently notified by a Park Ranger that it is illegal to feed ducks in San Diego, per California Code of Regulations 251.1 Harassment of Animals. She told me “rangers do enforce all laws related to wildlife—federal, state, and local. People who violate these laws can be cited and required to appear in court.”
I understand that this might seem contradictory to messaging from other agencies (libraries that sell duck food and signs, like the one above, on public land), but rules are rules! (And, following the law is important).
The Ranger who contacted me went on to say “Please encourage your readers to behave in a lawful and environmentally responsible way when visiting our city parks. When patrons refrain from feeding the birds, they help to ensure the health and longevity of the wildlife they love.
With your help, the citizens of San Diego can enjoy their parks with care, in a way that does not disrupt the wellbeing of our bird populations or violate federal law.”
Many people think that ducks like to eat bread, but ducks much prefer to eat these items:
- Birdseed
- Cut seedless grapes
- Cooked rice
- Peas
- Corn
- Oats
- Chopped lettuce or kale
- Veggie trimmings or peels
- Mealworms or freeze-dried crickets
What NOT to Feed Ducks
As mentioned above, feeding ducks in San Diego is illegal. But, I often see people feeing ducks bread so I wanted to make a note that these items should not be fed to ducks:
- Any type of bread
- Any type of chip (tortilla, potato, etc.)
- Crackers
- Moldy or rotting food
Feeding stale bread, tortilla chips, and crackers to ducks and geese is not good for a few reasons:
- While not directly harmful, bread does fills up ducks/geese so that they don’t eat other foods that are better for them
- Lack of good nutrition leads to disease and other complications
- Rotting bread pollutes the water
While researching for this blog post, I found this article by the Wildlife Center of Virginia to be very informative!
Parks with Ducks
There are lots of places all over San Diego where you can see ducks, here are just a few:
Chollas Lake Park
6350 College Grove Drive, San Diego, CA 92115
Chollas Lake Park many waterfowl to see and enjoy! There are ducks, geese and swans too. The park has a playground, fitness equipment, a walking-hiking trail, ball fields, and a half-court basketball court. It has restrooms.
Dixon Lake
1700 La Honda Drive, Escondido, CA 92027
Dixon Lake is a camp ground that offers day use for a parking fee of $5. There are several picnic spots and areas where you can see ducks.
Guajome Regional Park
3000 Guajome Lake Road, Oceanside, CA 92057
Guajome Regional Park in Oceanside has two day-use areas with new playgrounds, a basketball court and lots of green lawn space make this park ideal for picnicking. Parking is $3 per car.
Kit Carson Park
3333 Bear Valley Parkway, Escondido, CA 92025
Kit Carson Park in Escondido has three ponds, one is called “Duck Pond” and, as you’d expect, there are lots of ducks! The park has just about everything, including playgrounds, picnic areas (covered and uncovered), baseball/softball fields, soccer fields, amphitheater, Queen Califia’s Magical Circle sculpture garden, beautiful walking / hiking trails, disc golf, and a sports Center complex.
Heritage Park and Recreation Center
1381 E Palomar Street, Chula Vista, CA 91913
Heritage Park and Recreation Center in Chula Vista has a duck pond with lots of ducks. There is also a playground, a large grassy area, a half-court basketball court, soccer field, a skate park, and a recreation center. It has restrooms.
Lake Murray Community Park
7001 Murray Park Dr, San Diego, CA 92119
Lake Murray is a beautiful spot to play around some ducks. It has a playground, walking-hiking trail, a large grassy area, ball fields, and tennis court and restrooms (portable toilets).
Libby Lake Park
424 Calle Montecito, Oceanside, CA 92057
Libby Lake Park in Oceanside has a large pond with two fountains that attracts ducks, pelicans and turtles. It features a lake, playground, restrooms, volleyball, picnic facilities.
Lindo Lake Community Park
12660 Lindo Lane, San Diego, CA 92040
Lindo Lake Community Park in Lakeside is a popular spot to see ducks and geese! It provides picnic areas, a skate park, a playground, a softball field, a butterfly garden, horseshoe pits, tennis courts and restrooms.
Rohr Park
4548 Sweetwater Road, San Diego, CA 91902
Rohr Park in Bonita is a huge park! There are a couple of spots around the lake where you can see ducks or geese.
Santee Lakes
9310 Fanita Pkwy, Santee, CA 92071
Santee Lakes is a great place to feed ducks! There are a variety of duck breeds and other waterfowl too. You can buy food for the ducks at the office. The fees for weekdays are $4/vehicle, weekends are $6/vehicle and $10 for special events. The splash pad is $2/child weekdays and $3/child on weekends.
Evan’s Pond
10301 Scripps Lake Dr, San Diego, CA 92131
Evan’s Pond in Scripps Ranch is a nice place to see ducks and fish. It’s right near the Scripps Ranch library (shares a parking lot) and the bookstore at the library sells duck food for the ducks. There isn’t a playground, but restrooms are available in the library when it is open.
Miramar Lake (also called Miramar Reservoir or Lake Miramar)
10303 Scripps Lake Dr, San Diego, CA 92131
Miramar Lake (also called Miramar Reservoir or Lake Miramar), is a reservoir that was built in 1960. Ducks and geese like to hang out by the concession building.
Search for Parks with Ducks
If you’re looking for parks in San Diego where you can see ducks, you’ve come to the right place! Parks in San Diego has a searchable database of parks so you can find parks with the features you want or need (including ducks)!
Click here to search for parks with ducks!
Here’s a tip: after you click on the link above, you can refine your search further by selecting your location and other amenities you’d like (including bathrooms and bbq grills). There are lots of options, so you can get as specific as you need!
For Example:
There are 6 parks in North Inland San Diego with ducks and bathrooms. I found this by searching for parks with the “feed ducks” tag, and then selecting “North Inland” under location and “Bathrooms” under amenities. You can refine the location even more by clicking the plus sign next to a location to show subcategories (Scripps Ranch, Escondido, etc.).
Other Things To Do
If you’d like something you can do that will benefit our feathered friends, here are some ideas (some provided by the Wildlife Center of Virginia):
- Pick up trash, especially stray fishing hooks, lines and sinkers because these are dangerous to ducks and other animals
- Watch the ducks, make up stories about them and give them names
- Learn some fun duck facts. For instance, a male duck is called a drake, a female duck a hen, and a baby duck a duckling.
- Play “Duck, Duck, Goose”
- Walk like a duck, talk like a duck (pretend to walk like a duck and try to make duck sounds)
