Lake Merritt and Lakeside Park (Oakland) Fourth Wednesday Birdwalk

Leader: Lyla Arum, lyla.arum@gmail.com, Hilary Powers, hilary@salamanderfeltworks.com, Peggy Rehm, peggydrehm@gmail.com

Date: Wednesday, March 26 -- 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m

Description: Spring is springing at the lake and the winter visitors will have mostly - but not all - headed north. The little grebes and Ruddy Ducks will be beginning to put on their party clothes, and with luck the cormorants will be nesting and squabbling and casting blessings on the bench by the playground.

Trip Size: Open

Directions: Meet at the end of the Sailboat House parking lot nearest the big dome cage. We will bird around there, then either walk 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.

Take the 12, N, or NL bus to Grand and Perkins and walk 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.

This event will open at 1 pm on Tuesday, February 18, and close at 11 pm on Monday, March 24.