Natural History Wanderings

Updated 2/9/15 including bird lists

This past week I began a year-long Master Birder program through Golden Gate Audubon and the California Academy of Sciences. On Saturday Feb. 7 we had our first field trip in Oakland at Lake Merritt and Middle Harbor Shoreline Park. We were extremely lucky as there was only one short rain shower and it occurred when we were driving between our two locations.

Lesser Scaup

Lake Merritt has brackish water and is surrounded primarily by introduced plants and buildings. The mixture of native and exotic plants creates more habitat in addition to the Lake and the island in the lake. There were many waterbirds on the Lake including Greater and Lesser Scaup, Canvasback, Mallards, Common Goldeneye, Buffleheads, Ruddy Ducks, American Coots, Western Grebes. A couple of personal highlights were watching Belted Kingfisher perch for a long time and then take off and fly relatively close making its rattling sound and seeing a Green Heron and Red-shafted Flicker on the island. A Pied-billed Grebe was observed swallowing a large fish that surprised some of us that it could get it down its throat. Five Mergansers created an identificaton challenge for the group and never did get a clear consensus if they were Red-breasted or Common Mergansers or possibly a mix of both.  I saw or heard 36 species. Here is my birdlist Lake Merritt Bird List 2/7/15 Two raccoons were also seen on the island. Lake Merritt is also a good location for bird photographers as you are able to get closer to the birds than many other sites.

Canvasback

Middle Harbor Shoreline Park is not far from a major port area, which is quite busy during the week but is relatively quiet on weekends. It is a 38 acres park that includes beach, mudflats, a rocky shoreline area, coastal scrub that included Coyote Bush,  blooming Ceanothus and  even several Palm Trees. There were many shorebirds present including Dunlin, Western Sandpipers, Greater Yellowlegs, Long-billed Curlew, Least Sandpipers, Marbled Godwits, Willets, Semi-palmated Plovers, and Black-bellied Plovers. Highlights included seeing Snowy Plovers, a Red-throated Loon, and a Spotted Sandpiper. Bird list: Middle Harbor Shoreline Bird List 2/7/15