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

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

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