Sunday, January 3, 2010

Fisherman's Wharf - Ft. Mason, SF - Dec. 24, 2009


Walking Distance: 2.25 miles (estimate)
Walking Time: 3 hrs., 32 min. (12:32 - 4:04 p.m.)
Start & End Point: North end of Van Ness, 4-hr. parking space, San Francisco, CA

Today the sea gulls and pigeons carried the day -- at least in terms of sheer numbers. They were feeding off sourdough bread crumbs, fish and crab bits, and tourist leftovers. The sun was out, and swimmers were stroking slowly around in the (cold) Bay waters near shore (Aquatic Park area). 

I walked (SE) as far as Pier 39 (where I'd been yesterday, at night), to see if I could see some sea lions. On the walk back (NW), The Hyde Street Pier was closed due to the Christmas Eve. holiday hours; however, I was able to stroll out to the end of the Municipal Pier. Lots of folks were out crabbing; I did pass one small (Dungeness) crab on the sidewalk, and I stopped to sketch it. It had been left (to crawl around?) because it was under the size limit. (I'm not sure why it hadn't been thrown back into the water.) Nice views of the City (Coit Tower), Alcatraz, and Golden Gate Bridge from the end of the Pier.
A short walk over a hill, and further NW was Fort Mason. It was a quiet day there due to the Christmas holiday; however, the bandshell made of car doors (pictured) was quite interesting.

Wildlife Sightings:
92 pigeons; 101 sea gulls; 12 sea lions; and 1 ball in the Bay; 3 Western grebes; 2 crabs (1 Dungeness, 1 Red); 1 cormorant; 2 crows; 4 little brown jobs (LBJs); 2 pelicans; 1 starling.

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