Lake Merritt: The Realm of Fuligula and Friends

Buffleheads even attract the attention of nonbirders. Little do they know that they actually nest in the ear cavities of American Buffalo, a highly specified niche.

I've been spending a lot of time in Oakland this year. Who knew? I've always felt loyal to sweet sweet West Bay.

Like San Francisco, there is a lot of concrete around here, but birds can be found with the right pair of eyes...or access to BB&B. The obvious best birding/photography spot around is Lake Merritt, which is filled with diving ducks all winter long, not to mention grebes, gulls, herons and various songbirds around the lake. That's pretty cool in and of itself, but these birds are quite acclimated to people, as anyone who tried to go hunting here would probably end up on the losing end of a shootout with a local gang. Bring a camera and you can spend many hours there...November-February are the best months, but get there soon and you can probably still find most of the regulars. All pictures today are from Lake Merritt.

PS Although not from Lake Merritt, I highly recommend looking at this gem from Postsecret. Swans > Kids any day and every day.

Canvasbacks can be a bitch to photograph, which is a shame, because they are brilliant ducks...superb, even. I once saw a Peregrine Falcon grab a Canvasback from the sky, and then drop it into a pond from 150 feet up. THE DUCK SURVIVED. You will have no problem getting cornea-bending looks of them at the lake.

This American White Pelican can't fly and has been living off fishy handouts at the lake's nature center for several years. Occasionally a wild birds drops by and keeps it company/steals its meals. It still goes into breeding plumage late every winter and is fun to look at when its around.

Of course, the avian celebrity of the lake is the annually returning Tufted Duck. For the past several years this has been the most reliable place in the state to see one.

His tuft doesn't always look so immaculate, and it needs to be shampooed and conditioned on the regular. It reminds me more of a droopy mohawk (stylish in it's own right) in this picture.

Well I have a feeling this is a hybrid, but maybe (against all odds) it's a Glaucous-winged Gull. Kind of a pretty bird though. The lake can hold good numbers of gulls from time to time, and should be checked for some of the rarer species.

One of the Great Egrets that frequents the lake has lost most of it's fear of people, which allows you to get pictures like this one...

...and this one. Maybe someone can bring it some moisturizer?????

Green Herons are there too, although aren't as notoriously cooperative as some of the other herons. In fact, I haven't met a truly abiding Green since 2009 in the Everglades....what a bummer.

Eared Grebes appear harmless, but their terminator eyes say otherwise. Between their eyes and their fluffy, pillowesque bodies, they are one of the great mysteries of nature. 

Lake Merritt and scaup on a cloudy day.

There are birds without webbed feet found at the lake too, like this Nuttall's Woodpecker. Nuttall's is practically endemic to California, so my heart swells with pride whenever I see one.

Lesser Scaup. I dig the fine patterning on it's back (scaupulars?!), that's not something non-hunters get to see very much. Go to sleep my scaupy friend.