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Beschreibung
Lake Merrit is a large tidal lagoon in the middle of the City of Oakland, connected to the San Francisco Bay via an outflow channel on the South Side. Lake Merrit is a popular destination for runners, dog walkers, bikers and for holding picnics, with a popular trail ringing the lake. The lake is named for an Oakland mayor, Samuel Merrit, who helped facilitate the building of the dam that turned the shallow tidal lagoon into a lake.
The Rotary Nature Center, a small interpretive museum built in 1953, is surrounded by a waterfowl pond, a small cluster of man made islands and an aviary. [Note: the nature center is temporarily closed as of February 2024 after a fire damaged the building's walls and roofs in September 2023.]
This area of Lake Merritt offers a surprising variety of bird species in the midst of a busy urban environment. A rescued American White Pelican named 'Hank', often seen here, has been a resident for many years. The islands offer roosts and foraging area for herons such as Green Heron, Great Blue Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Snowy Egret and Great Egret, plus ducks, cormorants, Canada Goose and raptors. The lake hosts a wide variety of duck species, including large flocks of Greater Scaup, Lesser Scaup, along with Common Goldeneye, Ruddy Duck, Bufflehead, Canvasback and occasionally less common ducks such as Hooded Merganser, Redhead and Barrow's Goldeneye. Most notably, a rare female Tufted Duck has overwintered here for many years in amongst the scaup flock, and can sometimes be seen with a spotting scope, with some patience.
Horned Grebe, Eared Grebe and Pied-billed Grebe are all common in the appropriate season. A variety of gulls plus Brown Pelicans, Double-crested Cormorants and Belted Kingfishers are all common.
The parkland along the North side of the lake, hosts birds like Nuttall's Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, American Robin Anna's Hummingbird, Black Phoebe, California Scrub-Jay, Cedar Waxwing, Oak Titmouse, Bewick's Wren, Bushtit, California Towhee, Song Sparrow, Western Bluebird and Chestnut-backed Chickadees, plus Yellow-rumped Warbler and Townsend's Warbler in Winter.
Nearby, the forested area around Children's Fairyland to the West and the outflow channel on the South side of the lake offer additional viewing opportunties. The outflow channel is another location where Barrow's Goldeneye and the wintering Tufted Duck can be seen.
Details
Zugang
Lake Merritt can be reached via the public subway / trains (BART) as well as by car. Parking is available near the Nature Center, along Bellevue Avenue. The park can be quite busy on sunny weekend days. Click on a P in the map for directions or coordinates.
Be sure not to leave any valuables, bags or backpacks visible through car windows when walking here, as break-ins are known to happen in this area. While usually a busy place in the middle of the day, be alert when there are not many people around, as people have been robbed when here alone.