Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge

A Quiet Afternoon

I have yet to find anything all that interesting about Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge.  It's a large refuge, covering most of the Southeast portion of the bay.  I'm sure there are undiscovered treasures there, I just need to keep looking.  Still, it made for a quiet afternoon in the sun and cool Autumn air.

Southern Pacific Swing Bridge, Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Horned Grebe -- Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Eared and horned grebes were plentiful, as were northern shovelers.  I even saw a few buffleheads, the first of the season for me.  Of course, these will all be common in the upcoming months.

Grebes -- Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Marin Headlands & Lake Merritt

March 23, 2014

I didn't have the opportunity for a big adventure this weekend.  I was able to get away for a few hours, though, so I headed over to Marin to visit Rodeo Lagoon.

Rodeo Beach, CA

I read that there are often a lot of birds on the lagoon.  Not so, at least not when I got there.  There were a few canada geese and mallards.  A common merganser made an appearance at one point.  I saw a few surf scoters out on the ocean, but they were too far out to photograph.  So, I just spent a little time relaxing on the beach.  I watched the surfers.  The waves were big and they seemed to be having a great time out there.

Great Blue Heron -- Rodeo Lagoon, CA

I decided to stop at Lake Merritt on my way home.  I was in the mood for getting some bird pictures and Rodeo Lagoon had proven to be something of a disappointment in that regard.  It was a lovely day at the beach, mind you.  I just wanted more birds.

Hank -- Lake Merritt, Oakland, CA

Hank was there, of course.  He's a white pelican from Klamath Falls, OR.  He was injured up there a few years ago and sent down to the lake to live.  I wasn't aware of this until recently, but Lake Merritt is the oldest wildlife reserve in the country.  The folks there take good care of him, feeding him fish, which you can witness first-hand if you're lucky.  I get the impression Hank is pretty happy, all things considered.

Greater Scaup -- Lake Merritt, Oakland, CA

Lesser Scaup

I've gotten better at telling greater scaups and lesser scaups apart.  Greater scaups always look angry.  Lesser scaups usually look either a little dopey or "cool" in an Arthur Fonzerelli kind of way.  Simple, right?

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

Eared Grebe

A horned grebe and an eared grebe were sporting breeding plumage out on the lake.  They'll be heading off North soon, I suppose, along with most of the other waterfowl.  Not Hank, of course, he can't fly.

 Lake Merritt, Oakland, CA

Lake Merritt

November 23, 2013

I took Pongo for a short walk around Lake Merritt today.  It's not the normal type of place I'd take him.  There are far too many people, too much stimulation in general.  Still, we had a nice little twilight stroll up and down the South shore.

Ya think he's a little excited?

I've lived around Oakland for twenty-five years, minus a couple of years that we spent on the peninsula.  I've always had mixed feelings about this city.  I love the culture and the restaurants.  Oakland's Chinatown is the real deal, not the tourist trap in San Francisco.  Lake Merritt is one of Oakland's gems.

The side of the lake we were on didn't have a whole lot of birds on it.  I guessed this would be the best spot for anything we did see given the late afternoon light.  My favorite bird from our walk was the common goldeneye we saw.  He was diving for food, which was fun to watch.

Common Goldeneye -- Lake Merritt, Oakland, CA

There was an eared grebe that was close enough to shore that we could watch him underwater as he dove for food.  He was fast under the water, which was surprising given how he (she?) looked like a giant gray cotton ball on top of the water.

Eared Grebe -- Lake Merritt, Oakland, CA

Of course, there were a bunch of cormorants, seagulls and coots, but most were too far away to really watch.  We saw a white pelican out in the middle of the lake.  Too far out to get a decent picture of, unfortunately.  There was a large gathering of birds on the South-East section of the lake, but it was getting too dark for decent pictures.

American Coot -- Lake Merritt, Oakland, CA

If there were fewer people I'd make this a regular walk with Pongo.  Hmmm.  Maybe early mornings?  I might give that a try.

Lake Merritt, Oakland, CA