Oakland/Alameda Estuary

There's No Place Like Home

12/7/2013

It's December in Alameda.  What's that mean?  The leaves are turning brown and the air is getting cold.  I've gotten used to it now, but I used to find it strange that the leaves wouldn't turn usually until the middle of November or so.  I've gotten used to it.  It's the by-product of the warm days of September and early October, I think.  This year things seem to be happening even later than normal.

Fall Colors Near Our House

I wasn't planning on adding a blog entry this week since I'm not going anywhere, but when I saw some surf scoters in the water on my walk to get coffee this morning I decided to go back for my camera.  I think I took enough interesting pictures to put a page together, so here it is.

The High Street Bridge Over the Oakland/Alameda Estuary

I love the fact that I can see pelicans a block from my house.  They are the goofiest looking birds.  It doesn't seem like they should even be able to fly when you see them on land.  They appear to be good at it, though.

I don't think I've ever seen a white pelican on the estuary.  I've seen plenty of brown pelicans.  They aren't around every day, though.  In fact, months can go by without seeing one.  They tend to stick around for a while whenever they make an appearance, though.  The pelican is the mascot of one of the local elementary schools.  Sam's school mascot was the sea otter.  I always thought that was pretty cool.  I've never seen a sea otter around here.  I've seen seals swimming in the estuary, though.

Surf Scoters -- Oakland/Alameda Estuary

Western Grebe

The surf scoters are what got my camera out.  Like pelicans, they're strange looking birds.  Their beaks have a weird shape and are multi-colored.  They have white eyes and a white patch on their forehead.  The strangest part to me is the white square on the back of their heads.  How does a bird end up looking like this?

Common Goldeneye -- Oakland/Alameda Estuary

Common goldeneyes seem to becoming more . . . er . . . common as the days grow colder.  They're pretty birds, so I'm happy with that.

Not bad, being able to see this wildlife on a walk to the neighborhood Peet's, no?  Shoot, I didn't even mention the hawk I saw being chased by a crow over the factories across the water.  That's Oakland for ya.  tough city.

Brown Pelican -- Oakland/Alameda Estuary