Lake Merritt and Lakeside Park (Oakland)

Trip Leaders: Hilary Powers, hilary@salamanderfeltworks.com; Peggy Rehm, peggydrehm@gmail.com; Katherine Cook, katharinecook14@gmail.com

Date: Wednesday, March 25  --  9:30 a.m. to 12 noon

Description: Who's nesting at Lake Merritt? We should have cormorants above the playground if the last couple of years are anything to go by, plus at least a few uneaten goslings and ducklings. And some of the winter migrants will still be here, beginning to put on their party clothes before leaving for their breeding grounds....

Meet beside the Sailboat House parking lot (at 568 Bellevue), on the point of land with all the big rocks to sit on. 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 dome 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.

Trip size: The leaders would prefer no limit on the number of participants

Directions: 

Public transport: Take the 12, N, or NL bus to Grand and Perkins and walk into the park on Perkins. Turn right on Bellevue and walk down into the

Sailboat House lot as soon as you pass the Junior Center of Art & Science building. 

Driving:  Enter the park on Bellevue from Grand Avenue near Children's Fairyland, buy a basic short-term pass (card payment only; currently $3), and drive around toward the Junior Center of Art & Science for the best spots to leave your car. (There's no parking in the Sailboat House lot itself but plenty along the street. The pass says 2 hours but should be fine for the 3-hour trip.)

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

Registration opens on Tuesday January 17 at 1 pm and closes on Monday March 23 at 11 pm.