A Guide to the Best of Southern California : EXCURSIONS : The Eagles Have Landed

About this time every year, birds with summer places in the Pacific Northwest flock to Cachuma Lake for the winter. So do bird-watchers with binoculars and dog-earred field guides, hikers and campers.

But you can scout out the area even if you’re into no-effort--as in no sweating!--nature trips. On Wednesdays through Sundays from Nov. 1 to March 1, county naturalists welcome visitors aboard a 25-foot covered pontoon boat for a two-hour “Eagle Cruise” on the Santa Barbara County lake. The guides point out some of the year-round residents--hawks, vultures, quail and woodpeckers, to name a few--and such distinguished guests as the bald eagle. The national bird, with its white head and tail and large hooked bill and talons, has been spotted in increasing numbers in the last few years around the trout-stocked lake.

And other species also seem taken with the area. “We see mountain lions, golden eagles from time to time, osprey, large numbers of great blue heron, an occasional peregrine falcon, and a tremendous variety of ducks,” says county naturalist Neal Taylor. “Our winter bird count over the past six seasons totals 276 species.”

Cruises depart from Cachuma Marina and cost $8 for adults and $5 for children under 12.

Reservations are recommended for Eagle Cruises, Cachuma Lake Recreation Area, Santa Barbara; (805) 568-2460.