Lake Merritt is one of Oakland's many gems. In 1870, the lake's value as wildlife habitat was so acknowledged that it was designated the first wildlife refuge in the United States. It is an amazing wintering ground for birds and I always stop and look even if I'm without my binoculars or bird book. I especially like watching the channel as the tide goes out.
My main goal for the evening was to spot the Tufted Duck that has been wintering on the lake. Tufted Ducks are diving ducks that are smaller than the Greater Scaups that dominate the lake, but because of similar black and white coloring almost blend in if you're not looking. Luckily, as I was watching the Pied-bill grebes and Clarke's Grebes amongst the scaups near the bird islands, I caught the tuft of the Tufted Duck poking out as its head was tucked under its wing in the cooling evening. Tufted Ducks have been regular visitors in small numbers to Lake Merritt over the years, but it's still fascinating to think this bird made it over from somewhere in Eurasia to our humble lake. I think it would be fascinating to do a satellite track of where it flies back to in the spring.
The other interesting thing I saw was a smaller raptor in the trees of the bird island that normally hosts a lot of Double-crested Cormorants. I couldn't ID the bird because it was getting too dark, but I'll be back to see what it was.
What all did I see in my short evening bird walk?
- tufted duck
- greater scaup
- ruddy duck
- canvasback duck
- pied-bill grebe
- western grebe
- Clarke's grebe
- mallard duck
- coot
- Canada geese
- bufflehead
- great blue heron
- black-crowned night heron
