Apay Way trail: July 24, 2011

Walking Distance: 3.24 miles
Walking Time: 1 hr., 29 min. (5:07 - 6:36 p.m.)
Start and End Point: Parking area, near Marshlands Rd., Coyote Hills Regional Park (south end), Fremont?, CA


Late this afternoon/early evening, I walked from parking space near Marshlands Rd. to the Highway 84 overcrossing/bridge to the North side of Coyote Hills Regional Park, passing a large open pit quarry along the way, that was filled with a pool of green water at the bottom.  I followed this unpaved trail to the end/start of Apay Way trail (east of "No Name Trail") -- then back to my car the same way.

A small group of snowy egrets were still hopping around a bit (must be breeding season); a (California King) snake absorbing a bit of sun on the trail quickly disappeared into the grass when it sensed I was approaching; and a minute later I was looking at a great blue heron standing perfectly still - the silent hunter -- standing in yellow-green algae.


Wildlife:
9 sea gulls; 3 bumblebees; 2 doves; 2 little brown jobs (LBJs); 3 white pelicans; 3 blurs in bushes (BIBs); 5 terns; 7 dragonflies; 4 unidentified flying bugs (UFBs); 4 snowy egrets; 1 feral or wildcat of some type; 1 duck; 1 California king snake; 1 light-colored moth/butterfly; 6 swallows

Coyote Hills - Shoreline S. - July 17, '11

Walking Distance: 8.89 miles total (5.44 miles of new Bay Trail)
Walking Time: 3 hrs., 25 min. (4:12 - 7:37 p.m.)
Start and End Point: Coyote Hills Regional Park parking lot, Fremont, CA

Today was a game of beat the clock -- I arrived late to Coyote Hills Regional Park, with high hopes of hiking the southern part of the Shoreline Trail (solid red line on Bay Trail map), and maybe if I had time, part of another trail.

The reality: I was walking against fairly strong headwinds for at least half the way -- while walking out (west on) No Name Trail (solid red line on map) and the southern part of the Shoreline Trail (that extends down to the Dumbarton Bridge/Marshlands Road).

I hustled, not stopping to take too many pictures, and made it out of the park by closing time (8 p.m. this summer). No time to walk any other trail. Coyote Hills on the Bay side, is a very scenic place to be during the golden hour(s) before sunset; so skipping the photo-taking was a challenge. I didn't see another soul (except for a few sea gulls who hovered above me and appeared to be looking for food) on this long trail while I was out today -- perhaps because I was walking it late in the day.

There were lots of white pelicans, terns, egrets and other bird life. Other than ground squirrels, I didn't see any other animals, or reptiles. The ground squirrels made their homes (burrows) in the farthest

 reaches of both No Name and Shoreline trails -- in the tufted, dried mud lining both trails -- surrounded by water and/or old salt ponds on both sides. The landscape of plants consisted mainly of little clumps of green and red salt-loving plants (with tiny salt crystals on their "branches,") some grasses, and algae.




Wildlife:
5 ground squirrels; 29 sea gulls; 1 hawk/kestrel/falcon; 14 ducks; 12 swallows; 8 snowy egrets, 2 great egrets; 19 terns; 12 white pelicans; 40 small unidentified brownish shorebirds (UBB)s; 4 cormorants; 6 little brown jobs (LBJs); 1 unidentified flying bug; 2 plovers/killdeer; 1 white butterfly, 1 small blue butterfly, 4 small/tiny whiteish ones; 1 small black beetle; 3 American Avocets