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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Kibet" data-source="post: 3495519" data-attributes="member: 126488">Day 6 Wednesday 23rd NovemberLake Merritt (GGAS)For my third GGAS walk, and my first in the East Bay was Lake Merritt. The hotel I was staying at offered a free Shuttle to the BART (and within 3 miles of the hotel). The night before, I asked when it started running and they said 0700. That was suitable and so the next morning , I went along at 0720 and asked to use the shuttle only to be told the next one was at 0800. Why they did not tell me it was running every hour last night? Luckily, I had enough time to walk 15 minutes and get the normal bus.Once at Lake Merritt, the US first official wildlife refuge,  I was one of the first to arrive and started to have a look around at the meeting point. Great White and Snowy Egrets, DC Cormorants, Canvasback, American Coots, Buffleheads and Scaups (Greater and Lesser) were immediately obvious. Once the leaders and the other participants arrived, and scopes were out, Barrow’s Goldeneye as well as Common Goldeneye were spotted.  An American White Pelican flew in to join the resident flightless Pelican.  Moving up the path, a juvenile Black-Crowned Night Heron preened itself on a nearby fence, not bothering with us as we walked past. The North part of Lake Merritt was more diving ducks, with Ruddy Duck, Pied Grebe and Red-breasted Merganser, joining the list. The Scaup were checked for pony tails in the hope that The Tufted Duck that has been visiting for years would return.  No joy, on that front.  On one of the Islands, a Green Heron popped up and started to act aggressively to a Gull and Crow, which threatened their perch. Moving on to the Lakeside Park, we searched for the “Magic Tree”, a tree that is bursting with activity and moves every month. No tree really stood out though , but a couple of TVs flew overhead and an odd Red-Tailed Hawk. The garden at the park had the most activity, with the various White and Golden Crowned Sparrows, Chestnut-Backed Chickadees, American Bushtits and Black Phoebes. A little fountain was discovered where Yellow-Rumped Warbler and Lesser Goldfinch were coming in for a bath.I had a lunch meeting with the Director of the writing program, and one of the Leaders offered to drop me off as it was in her neighbourhood. The other Leader also told me to email her and she would forward details about another walk on Tuesday with a different group. Kindness of Birders again.It was very interesting to see the different approaches by the leaders of the walk. No matter how many regulars there are, every one of them always made sure that it was open to new people. None of them have skipped over the "Usual birds" which has made it much easier for me to learn about the Californian birds.Photographed Species 55/56</blockquote>

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