Lake Merritt

Here Comes the Rain Again

February 2, 2014

Yoshika was down in Los Angeles this weekend, so I had to stick close to home to take care of the dogs.  It was raining on Sunday, which was a good thing.  It's only the second rain of the winter.  It's looking like it's going to be a very dry year.

Lake Merritt, Oakland, CA

I went to Lake Merritt late in the day to take a few pictures.  Nothing too exciting, frankly.  The sky was overcast, but the sun was shining through a bright patch of open sky above the lake.  Well, it was until it fell behind a bunch of gray clouds.  There were a lot of birds on the water, and I finally caught a glimpse of the rare tufted duck on the lake.

Tufted Duck -- Lake Merritt, Oakland, CA

The tufted duck has been wintering at the lake the last few years.  That's what I've read online, anyway.  He blends in well with the dozens of scaups that inhabit the lake.  He blends in so well, in fact, that I didn't realize I'd seen him until I got home and looked at the pictures.  I zeroed in on him in a few pictures because he did seem to stand out a little from the rest of the ducks, but not enough for me to realize I was looking at a different type of bird altogether.

Black-crowned Night Heron -- Lake Merritt, Oakland, CA

The black-crowned night herons were hanging out. as usual.  These birds like to nest in the trees in Chinatown and leave awful messes on the cars that park underneath the trees.  I know this from experience.  It's amazing how close they'll let people approach them in the park, though.  All of the birds seem to be like that.  I've stood within two feet of a great egret near the nature center on a previous visit.  I guess they're used to people feeding them.

A cooper's hawk was checking out what was on the menu near the visitor center.  Again, I was able to get pretty close to the bird.  He eventually flew off.  I guess he wasn't too interested in having duck for dinner.

I think it was a cooper's hawk anyway.  I'm not completely convinced.  A couple walked up while i was taking pictures and took a few stabs at identifying it.  I could only tell them why it wasn't a harrier or a peregrine falcon or a kestrel, I couldn't tell them with any conviction what it actually was.

Black-crowned Night Heron -- Lake Merritt, Oakland, CA

Anyway, it was nice to have a little rain.  It wasn't nearly enough to put much of a dent in the current drought, and I'm not grumbling about the warm, sunny days we've been experiencing, but it was a nice reminder that we're still deep in winter.  Here's hoping we get a few big storms passing through in the upcoming weeks.  The state desperately needs it.

Ruddy Duck -- Lake Merritt, Oakland, CA