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GGAS Field Trip Report

August 26, 2020 – Lake Merritt

Trip Leader(s):

Hilary Powers
Ruth Tobey

Date/Location:

August 26, 2020
Lake Merritt

Trip Info:

Number of Participants: 4
Number of Species: 37

After a solid week of blazing heat, our small group gathered under overcast August skies, happily zipping up coats in the strong cold  breeze. Later the sun did come out, the coats came off, and the air-quality station by the Nature Center – silent at the beginning of the walk – started a lovely but horrifying nonstop chorus of chimes. Later already? The time jump makes sense, as it was a day of startling sights, defying the usual chronological follow-the-walk narrative.

We collected three different raptors – the most for any one walk – including a Cooper’s Hawk and two Red-shouldered circling high in the sky (besides perched on other occasions). Even better, a young Red-tailed Hawk swooped in close enough to look as big as an eagle as it snatched something to snack on from the grass and then perched low in a pine near Children’s Fairyland. And better still, the Red-tail flew just over the head of a guy flying small drones above the lawn, so we had a lot to watch and were still there when a drone got itself trapped inside Fairyland. We left with it clattering mournfully behind the fence and the pilot heading off along the wall in search of someone working inside who might be persuaded to help him recover his probably illicit toy.

For sheer drama, the raptors couldn’t match of all things the Violet-green Swallows. We’d never spotted these birds in August, but today they darted in a countless crowd near one corner of the big  gray building at Perkins and Bellevue, flashing back and forth and perching briefly on  the top edges of windows ten stories or so off the ground. What were they chasing? No way to tell, except that it almost certainly had six legs and one or two pairs of wings. Later, in the garden, we met someone who lives at that level in the building, who said  she hadn’t seen anything like it, ever.

Heading back to the lake from the swallow building, we heard and then saw a Belted Kingfisher – missing from the walk since last February’s final pre-pandemic trip – perched in one of the bare trees on the cormorant island. This one was a juvenile, the first to show up here without an accompanying adult, and we can hope it was looking for a desirable spot to spend the off-season. 

Any of those sightings could have been the main event on an ordinary walk – but not this time, even though the real bird of the day didn’t make it onto the report list. Pet and domestic birds aren’t counted, but who could resist stopping to watch a Blue and Gold Macaw? Especially not a macaw wearing a red hoodie like the one we saw supervising from its chauffeur’s shoulder while its chariot (a bright red compact car) was rearranged to suit it. The front seat was fully equipped for parrot transport already, with an elaborate perch system and several dishes for snacks and drinks, and the rest was quite stuffed with mostly anonymous packages. The driver glanced up from his current armload and snarled “No pictures!” and “I’m very busy!” So we wandered on, puzzled and irritated and charmed in roughly equal measure.

Also enjoyed: a couple of Green Herons, assorted Black-crowned Night-Herons (including several very young stripey youngsters), and two or three Snowy Egrets, plus a single American Coot (forerunner of the returning flood), both Brown and White Pelicans, lots of Double-crested Cormorants of all ages (but none in or near the old nests), and a whole host of Western Bluebirds, mostly heavily speckled juveniles. And a bunch of other species, of course – 37 all told, up from last year but slightly down from the year before – making for another in our unbroken series of very good days at Lake Merritt.

More Reports

July 9, 2021 – Coyote Hills Bike and Bird

What a beautiful day filled with 66 species of birds! The day started off great at 6:30 am with a perfect temperature of 65 degrees,

Read More »

May 26, 2021 – Lake Merritt

Birders have this game. When the day is going well – and more often when it’s going badly – someone will announce “I’d like to

Read More »

June 23, 2021 – Lake Merritt

At the start, it looked like a really quiet morning, with the two leaders and one regular so consistent and so well-informed that he amounts

Read More »

April 28, 2021 – Lake Merritt

Thirteen happy birders gathered for the still-unofficial April 4th-Wednesday walk at Lake Merritt – not quite so many as in a non-pandemic month, but close. 

Read More »

March 24, 2021 – Lake Merritt

The still-unofficial 4th-Wednesday Golden Gate Audubon walk drew 13 birders – much less scary now with so many of us fully vaccinated – and the

Read More »

February 24, 2021 – Lake Merritt

Falcon Flies at Lake Merritt! And perches. And looks around. And takes a little circling flight. And perches. And sits looking down at the lake

Read More »

Our Mission

The Golden Gate Audubon Society engages people to experience the wonder of birds and to translate that wonder into actions which protect native bird populations and their habitats.

Home page photo of a Bald Eagle by Rick Lewis. Home page photos rotate on an occasional basis. If you have a Bay Area bird photo you would like us to consider, email us at rnakano@goldengateaudubon.org.

Home page bird illustrations by Tex Buss. We are grateful for her generous donation of time and talent!

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Contact Us

Golden Gate Audubon
2530 San Pablo Avenue, Suite G
Berkeley, California 94702

Phone: 510.843.2222

Office hours: Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Golden Gate Audubon Society  is a
not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Our federal tax ID number is 94-6086896

Manage your GGAS account online

Now you can manage all your GGAS business online — renew your membership, update your contact information, view past donations, or sign up for events such as classes, Birdathon or the Christmas Bird Count. Click here to access your account. (You’ll need to create a login name and password if you don’t have one already. If you forget your password, click on the “forgot your password” link.) You can also sign up for our new GGAS Chat to get updates on trips, talk with other members, and more!

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All photos on this site belong to the photographers and may not be used without written permission.
  • About Us
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      • Past Speakers
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    • Eco-Ed for Kids
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  • Conservation
    • Bird-Friendly Coffee Club
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