When driving from Oakland to Berkeley along I-80/I-580, you’re likely to see 1) a lot of traffic and 2) Berkeley’s Aquatic Park, a respite from said traffic. Interestingly, the lagoon was created in the process of paving the interstate when it cut into the edge of the San Francisco Bay.
Although Aquatic Park is right by the highway, it’s a quiet mile-long park that has plenty of space for walking and bird watching. Immediately after taking my camera out, we saw a large white bird–could it be a Great Egret? It seemed larger than a Snowy Egret, which is very common in Oakland, but distance made size hard to judge. Thankfully I got great views of its beak (all yellow) and for additional confirmation a Snowy Egret flew by to show the difference (much smaller, black beak, yellow feet).
Not a bad start to the visit! Though we only encountered one Great Egret, there were plenty of additional Snowy Egrets fishing throughout the lagoon.
A few House Finches foraged around the trees and grass, their color complemented by the old rusty fence.
To conclude the walk, we encountered a small family of Black-necked Stilts wading around the north end of the lagoon. Can really see how tall they are with their super-long legs. Great for wading in deeper waters, or peering over someone’s shoulder.
