Brisbane Marina/Fishing Pier - Nov. 21, 2009

Walking Distance: 1.54 miles
Walking Time: 2 hours (2:00 - 4:00 p.m.)
Start & End Point: Parking Lot, near Fishing Pier and Brisbane Marina/Sierra Point Marina, Brisbane, CA

It was a big day for ground squirrels today, and abstract photos of boat reflections.

Wildlife Sightings:
10 ground squirrels; 10 coots; 3 cormorants; 3 pigeons; 11 Western Grebes; 1 common grebe; 5 sea gulls; 23 ducks; 30 little brown jobs (LBJs); 1 crow; 1 hawk

Oyster Point - Part 2/2 - Nov. 19, 2009

Walking Distance: 1.62 miles
Walking Time: 1 hr., 2 min. (4:00 - 5:02 p.m.)
Start & End Point: Behind commercial building (Monogram Biosciences) (off Oyster Pt. Blvd.), in public parking spaces by trail, South San Francisco, CA

Walk fast, and don't stop to take too many pictures. That was the plan. Well, that last part didn't work. But, I did move quickly enough to keep warm as the sun set.
I'm still wearing my flip flops, but I may need to get some special "flip flop socks" soon.

The small rectangular "bay" (shown on map) is actually an old shipbuilding area from World War II and is ringed with some informative signage about the history, and about South San Francisco, and the Bay Trail.

Wildlife Sightings:
22 sea gulls; 10 little brown jobs (LBJs); 6 Western grebes; 4 crows; 28 coots; 5 unidentified brownish shorebirds; 1 black-necked stilt; 1 killdeer; 8 bufflehead ducks + 13 other ducks; 1 common grebe (finally saw one of these cuties)

Oyster Point, Part 1/2, Nov. 19, 2009

Walking Distance: 1.64 miles
Walking Time: 1 hr., 9 min. (1:04 - 2:13 p.m.)
Start & End Point: Public Parking, Oyster Point Marina, near Fishing Pier, South San Francisco, CA

Thank you to Sandy for joining me on this walk today.

Wildlife Sightings:
20 ducks; 27 coots; 10 sea gulls; 2 great blue herons; 3 Western grebes; 5 little brown jobs (LBJs); 1 brown pelican; 75 unidentified brownish shorebirds on rocks near/at shoreline; and 1 white butterfly

Oyster Pt. to Oyster Cove Marina - Nov. 18, '09

Walking Distance: 2.21 miles
Walking Time: 1 hr., 12 min. (3:22 - 4:44 p.m.)
Start & End Point: Parking lot, Fishing Pier/Oyster Pt. Marina;
South San Francisco, CA

We parked by the Oyster Point Fishing Pier (see image)/Oyster Pt. Marina; and we walked north to Oyster Cove Marina and back.

My friend Elise and I enjoyed the afternoon sun, but it got much cooler as soon as the sunlight started disappearing. We were approached by a very friendly dock cat at Oyster Point Marina (see image), and later we spotted a black-crowned night heron (see image) as well as several other birds. Elise's comment was that this night heron looked a bit like a penguin - or at least its closest relative in the Bay Area.


Wildlife Sightings:
3 brown pelicans; 9 sea gulls; 5 Western Grebes; 4 little brown jobs (LBJs); 3 pigeons; 26 Canada geese; 3 Coots; 1 friendly white dock cat + 1 other cat (back of Inn); 1 seal/sea lion (brown); 1 willet; 1 snowy egret; 1 black-crowned night heron; and 3 crows

SamTrans Peninsula - Airport Blvd, bridge - Nov. 17, '09

Walking Distance: 1.9 miles
Walking Time: 1 hour, 3 minutes (3:28 - 4:31 p.m.)
Start & End Point: Public Parking lot, SamTrans Peninsula, South San Francisco, CA

Today was a bit cloudy and skies were darkening by the time I completed this segment -- a link between last Saturday's and yesterday's walks.
Most of today's walk was along sidewalks and surface streets - along N. Access Road, Airport Blvd., and (following Bay Trail signs) past a parking garage, and a water quality control plant (Belle Air Rd.) to the bridge where yesterday's walk ended. Most of the bird sightings took place in the first 15 minutes, when I walked out on the SamTrans Peninsula (retracing steps from last Saturday).

Wildlife Sightings:
21 ducks (14 = shovel ducks); 13 American Avocets; 5 sea gulls; 18 unidentified brownish shorebirds; 4 willets; 10 little brown jobs (LBJs); 5 coots; 3 killdeer; 1 great blue heron (flying off lagoon); abandoned tires and shopping cart, plus a few small balls.