Lovely Weather We're Having... Shoreline Edition

Funny how much time wedding planning takes!  I decided to take a little break yesterday, and armed with a chocolate milkshake I traversed to the MLK Jr. Regional Shoreline, one of my new favorite parks for its lack of people and abundance of birds and native plantings.  Imagine my surprise when I found the parking lot half full!  Apparently at high tides, the endangered Clapper Rail and other like-minded birds are displaced from their shore-side homes and take refuge at the end of the dock that extends into the marsh.  Birders of all degrees gathered on the edges with camera lenses bigger than the birds themselves, snapping photos and chatting.  Please follow me through a photo tour.

I'm so in love with the colors of this photo.  And the composition.  And how it takes a bridge and abstracts it into a series of lines and color.  Ok, I'm really proud of this one, even if it was just me documenting something interesting.

This is part of a disc-shaped sculpture- isn't the patina so lovely against the sky?  I wandered around the sculpture on a large expanse of lawn, admiring the new native plantings.  At the blink of an eye, a large bird emerged about six feet away from me seemingly out of no where and flew off to a distance.  The crowd of birders turned their tripods to me and this amazing creature and started snapping away.  "Is that...  an owl?!" I called over to them.  "Yes!"  Wow!  Sorry, Burrowing Owl to disturb you, but you were quite wonderful to happen upon!

Look closely in the bottom, left portion of the photo for the Burrowing Owl, sending me disgusted looks.  Obviously I don't have the sort of camera equipment that others at the park had...

A Crow (?) descends on a post, which for some reason is outfitted with an old satellite.

As I wandered around, I collected a few objects to assemble.  A large mussel shell, a leaf from a Salvia, and a downy feather found in a large, flowering Mallow among the Yellow-Faced Bumble Bees.  I loved it for the textures mixing together and the shadows the feather made on the shell.  It combined senses so well- touch, tactile, sight.  (I didn't feel like tasting was an option).

There ends our adventure!  How are you enjoying our respite from rain and gloom?

Field Trip: MLK Regional Shoreline

 Can you imagine taking yourself next door to the airport to look for some peace and quiet?  Well, per Lisa's recommendation I did.  Improbably situated, the MLK Regional Shoreline ringing the San Leandro Bay is the eye of the storm, surrounded by the Oakland Airport, industrial complexes, and Downtown Oakland.  Take a stroll up the ramp of the Observation Tower above and look out over Arrowhead Marsh with binoculars and a bird ID book in hand.   Calm...

I loved the long dock the best, though.  The seemingly endless journey to the end of the dock and middle of the marsh can be a treasure hunt for sharp eyes.  Birds rustling around in the grasses below with piles of mussel and clam shells peeking through the mud.  At high tide you can spot gigantic rays fluttering their way to a meal.  At low tide the birds easily outnumber the tiny handful of human park patrons.  I love that the birds aren't what I'd see in my landlocked backyard only a few miles away.  Look up and the Oakland skyline looks downright romantic.   

I can't wait to go again and sit for awhile, taking in the quiet solitude as the world (and the rampant ground squirrels) scurry frantically around me.