Lake Merritt and Lakeside Park (Oakland)

December is the absolute peak month for birds at Lake Merritt: everybody likely to come is probably here, and nobody has left yet. Goldeneyes . . . maybe Barrow’s Goldeneyes . . . and who knows, maybe that Tufted Duck reported in October and seen at least once since then….

MASKS REQUIRED FOR THIS FIELD TRIP

Leader: Ruth Tobey,  ruthtobey@gmail.com, (510) 717-3264; Hilary Powers, hilary@salamanderfeltworks.com

This trip is free but advance registration is required. Registration will open two weeks before the trip and close at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, December 21.  Directions for registered participants are below.

Please note the public health guidelines for this trip, as we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic:

• Participants must register online and acknowledge acceptance of our liability waiver. Each person must register separately.

Thank you for your flexibility in helping us ensure that everyone remains healthy! Because we have to limit the size of trips, please do not sign up unless you are committed to attending.

Directions: Meet at the end of the Sailboat House parking lot nearest the big dome cage. We will bird around there, then either head down the lake toward El Embarcadero or go up the paved path toward Children’s Fairyland and loop back through the garden, after which we will cover what we missed. The down-the-lake path is all paved, with gentle slopes up from the cage to the road and back down on the other side of the bird paddock. If we go up toward the garden first, it’s another gentle, paved rise toward the other end of Bellevue. Coming from El Embarcadero, we’re apt to cut across the lawn, but can stick with paved paths if anyone in the group is using a walker or wheelchair. Regardless of the route, the park offers benches at frequent intervals.

Public transit: Take the 12, N, or NL bus to Grand and Perkins and head into the park on Perkins. Driving: The Sailboat House lot near the dome cage (at 568 Bellevue) is the best spot to park, but there’s plenty of parking along Bellevue between the boathouse and the Nature Center. Enter via Bellevue near Children’s Fairyland; the $2 “two hour” pass is probably OK even though the trip is about 3 hours, as the dashboard cards don’t have a start time on them.

Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/mBdvRfnSDZaEBzqq7