North Chagrin Reservation & Cuyahoga Valley National Park

North Chagrin Reservation is one of the premier locations in the country to photograph Wood Ducks.  Located near Cleveland, it is one of the city's great metroparks.  Every fall the foliage surrounding several ponds turn the water into brilliant shades of red, orange, and yellow.  Brilliantly plumaged male wood ducks perform for the hordes of nature photographers that have flocked to the park ever since its secret went out over the internet.  Normally wood ducks are extremely wary and difficult to photograph but here, at times, they appear to be ready to eat out of your hand.  It is obvious, despite the signs warning against it, that the ducks have learned bread and corn are easily obtained from the many humans enjoying the park. 

Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Cuyahoga Valley National Park (http://www.nps.gov/CUVA/index.htm) is one of the newest parks in the National Park System.  After a long grassroots campaign it became an official national park in 2000.  Lying between two major cities, Cleveland and Akron, its 33,000 acres offer much needed green space for urban inhabitants.  It is a unique park in many ways.  Parts of it were severely damaged by human action and are in various states of restoration.  Historically the valley has great significance.  The great Ohio & Erie Canal was completed in 1827 through the valley and helped open the region.  The "tow path" built two feet above the canals allowed draft animals to drag the boats through the system.  Today the residents of the area hike and bike along the restored tow path or ride the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad through the park. 

MONTEREY BAY & SAN FRANCISCO

September 22-29, 2009

MONTEREY BAY PELAGIC TRIPS

The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is the premier destination for seabirding in North America. Its 5,300 square miles of open water dwarfs Yellowstone National Park and the deepest areas of the sanctuary double the depths of the Grand Canyon. It contains an underwater volcano whose slopes are covered with coral forests. Not only does it contain incredible variety of seabirds and other wildlife but it is very accessible year around due to the Santa Cruz Mountains which protect it from the prevailing northwest winds. On other coasts you have to travel a couple of hours to get to deep water that here you can be at in minutes.

An icon in pelagic birding is Deb Shearwater (http://www.shearwaterjourneys.com/) who has been leading tours for 35 years. I signed up for her September 24 trip. I knew from my research that seabirding is very "iffy" and signing up for three consecutive trips would give me a statistically much better chance of good weather and a lot of action. With limited time, however, and not knowing how my "sea legs" would react, and also being a raw beginner in recognizing sea birds, I gambled on one day. I lost. There had been a lot of fog offshore for a week and this trip was no different. In addition the boat was terribly crowded due to many participants from the Monterey Seabird Convention being held during this time. The back one third of the boat is the best location to see the most birds and this is where many birders planted themselves. There was mention of rotating spots but this was not very effective and I tried to roam the front half of the ship which was usually possible. If shooting conditions had been better I would have been more aggressive in moving to the back but given the fog and gray skies I simply enjoyed the trip knowing I would have to be back for another try.

SAN FRANCISCO AREA

Coyote Point Park is located where an Ohlone fishing village used to be.  Now it is a large complex of marina, golf course, beach, firing range, and wooded areas with constant jet traffic overhead from the nearby San Francisco International Airport.  The paths get a lot of use and birds are somewhat habituated to humans allowing close approach.  There are mud flats east of the marina which contained mixed flocks of shore birds along with a pond to the south where avocets, green herons, and a few ducks were approachable.  The birds on the mudflats were the most wary however as they were being harassed by dogs that their owners unleashed.  As usual low tide was best.

Black-bellied Plover                                             

Marbled
Godwit                                    

Black Oystercatcher

The Golden Gate Bridge

Being a loyal Michigander, one immediately begins to compare the the Golden Gate with the Mighty Mac.  Michigan definitely has the longer bridge when measured end to end but the distinctive color and beautiful setting make the Golden Gate a worthy competitor.  When everything is considered, however, I regretfully have to cast the winning vote for the Golden Gate.  I base this on the criteria of user friendliness.  On any nice day the people of San Francisco jog, walk, bike, or push baby strollers across San Francisco Bay enjoying the view and getting their exercise.  In Michigan only Labor Day gives us a taste of what San Franciscans can enjoy any day. 

Fisherman's Wharf and the Waterfront

Golden Gate Park

This large city park ranks as one of the finest  urban parks in the world.  It is larger than Central Park in New York and is for the most part man-made.  Built on leveled sand dunes it contains two museums (The De Young Museum and the California Academy of Sciences), about a dozen small lakes, specialty gardens, golf courses, wild areas, and of course, hippy hill.  On maps it stands out as a rectangular green area surrounded by concrete.  An aerial view makes it very easy to understand why a tired migrating bird would find it easy to descend into this area before crossing San Francisco Bay.  Thus it becomes a great "migrant trap" during spring and fall migrations as does any  significant green space surrounded by urban sprawl.  The boundaries are not subtle.  One moment you are dodging city traffic and the next you are surrounded by wild space.

Napa Valley

My impressions of wineries in the Napa and Sonoma areas northeast of San Francisco can be summed up in the image on the left.  Rolling hills of picturesque vineyards along with beautiful buildings and tasting rooms.  The quality of the california wines are legendary but when comparing tours, however, to lesser known wine growing areas such as the Traverse City or Fingerlakes regions I would prefer touring the lesser known wineries.  Napa seemed much more pretentious and expensive.  Stretch limousines delivered patrons door to door and traffic was horrendous even on weekdays.  All in all, the beautiful vistas in the finger lakes area along with a more laid back attitude made me forget Napa Valley as soon as I left it.

Filoli and Half-Moon Bay

Filoli (http://www.filoli.org/) is  a historical site spreading over 654 acres and including a 36,000 square foot 20th Centrury Georgian-inspired country house containing 43 rooms and 17 fireplaces.  Many people would recognize the house from the Dynasty t.v. series but many movies have also been shot here including "Heaven can Wait" with Warren Beatty, "Wedding Planner" with Jenifer Lopez, and "The Game" with Michael Douglas.  A 16 -acre formal European Style Garden surrounds the house. 

Half Moon Bay

A nice trip back to San Francisco following a tour of Filoli is to head west from Filoli to Highway 1 and head north.  A must stop is Sam's Chowder House (http://www.samschowderhouse.com/).  When Edie found out that the NBC's Today Show had named the Sam's Lobster Roll as one of "America's Top Five Sandwiches" she made the fastest menu decision I had ever seen.  After finishing it she said Al Roker was right.  After finishing your meal grab one of the wooden beach chairs outside with your favorite beer for one of the best ocean views around.  If you can't get there this week check out the live "Sam's Cam" on their web site.