Fhelsing's Fotothing

visiting the bird sanctuary at Lake Merritt in Oakland, California
Sunday, April 6, 2008

I've visited this bird sanctuary many times, and have been coming here since I was a child. Quite a few of the birds live here year around, but there are some who migrate here, too.

In this visit, I noticed a kind of duck that I didn't recognize, and here are a bunch of them swimming among the coots and gulls. The almost black heads caught my eye, and then I saw those interesting bills. They are pale gray and wide at the tips, like shovels.

I started thinking about how the climate change might effect bird migration patterns, as well as have an effect on animals that hibernate during the colder months, such as bears. I wonder if I'll start seeing more new (to me) bird species here in the next few years.

This is my entry for climatechangefriday.