Bird photography locations near San Francisco

<p>Hello,<br>

I am about to go for my first bird photography trip. The question is if there is a web site or any other resource on how to find a good location for bird photography in September near San Francisco. </p>

<p>Thank you</p>

<p>I find the websites for the local Audubon societies have a lot of information about good places to bird in the area. Check out these links<br /> <a href="http://www.marinaudubon.org/birds-locations.php">http://www.marinaudubon.org/birds-locations.php</a></p>

<p><a href="http://www.goldengateaudubon.org/field-trips/upcoming-field-trips-2012/">http://www.goldengateaudubon.org/field-trips/upcoming-field-trips-2012/</a><br>

<br /> Also, you can investigate ebird reports on this link. Just put in the bird you want to see for the species (ie, Great Blue Heron) and the location (San Francisco or?). When you get the map, just click on the bubbles for a listing of the checklists of birds found in that location. The places with more checklists and more birds reported are the better places to bird.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://ebird.org/ebird/map/grbher3?neg=true&env.minX=-122.64616857299808&env.minY=37.68358150604354&env.maxX=-122.22903142700198&env.maxY=37.83178412542888&zh=true&gp=false&mr=1-12&bmo=1&emo=12&yr=1900-2013&byr=1900&eyr=2013">http://ebird.org/ebird/map/grbher3?neg=true&env.minX=-122.64616857299808&env.minY=37.68358150604354&env.maxX=-122.22903142700198&env.maxY=37.83178412542888&zh=true&gp=false&mr=1-12&bmo=1&emo=12&yr=1900-2013&byr=1900&eyr=2013</a></p>

<p>There are a lot of good locations for bird photography in the San Francisco area. I know there are a number of excellent ones on the East Bay, but I am less familiar with them. The two I am most familiar with are:</p>

<ul>

<li>Radio Road at Redwood Shores, on the bay side of the SF Peninsula.</li>

<li>Palo Alto Baylands, near the duck pond by the Palo Alto Municipal (small) Airport, also including the near-by end of San Antonio Road and Shoreline Boulevard areas.</li>

</ul>

<p>If you don't mind going to Santa Cruz and Monterey, the University of California, Santa Cruz Arboretum is great for flowers and hummingbirds. They are open from 9am to 5pm with a $5 entrance fee.</p>

<p>Hi Alexey.</p>

<p>First I would HIGHLY recommend picking up a copy of "Birding Northern California" Falcon Press by John Kempler. It is a wonderful resource. I go to the Bay area often in December and the birding and photography can be spectacular. Some of my very best has been around Palo Alto and area where may diving ducks, rails (Clapper and even a Black), stilts, associate which is the one that Shun mentioned. I also have had good luck with Burrowing Owls nearby there there too.<br>

<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/14906358-lg.jpg" alt="" width="584" height="521" /><br>

This is cropped. t should have been better but I didn't want to get too close and spook it.<br>

<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/14906362-lg.jpg" alt="" width="539" height="788" /><br>

Clapper Rail , Palo Alto-This site is south of the one noted above. <br>

<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/14906377-lg.jpg" alt="" width="527" height="326" /><br>

In a nearby pond. Since when do you see scooters this close to shore?<br>

I have another excellent location in the south bay not in Kempler's book in Alviso at the Environmental center, spectacular! Shrikes, Kites, many species of ducks, Grebes, Pelicans, shorebirds, you name it. Of course this is in winter, so I don't know what it is like now.</p>

<p>I have been to all of the locations I mentioned above in the last 4, 5 days. Things are a bit slow around Palo Alto/San Antonio Road. If you go there, look for the Lucy Evans Nature Center or go to San Antonio Road; go all the way to the end of it by the bay. There is plenty of parking, but I have heard that cars have been broken into there. Don't leave camera gear inside.</p>

<p>Below is the setting at Radio Road. I captured that image about a month ago in early August. At Radio Road, you park right across from the pond. You don't need to walk much.</p><div></div>

<p>Depending on the tides, the south shore of Alameda can be quite good. If the high tide is about 9 or 10 in the morning, you'd arrive at dawn and wait for the tide to push the birds toward you. There will be some thoughtless people jogging past and spooking the birds.<br /><img src="http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/scolopacidae/lbcu01.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="400" /></p>

<p>Another location, also dependant on tides, is the Martin Luther King Regional Shoreline at San Leandro Bay. Drive to the parking lot at the end of the road where the visitor rest rooms are. On the east side of the parking lot is a channel that supplies and drains a salt marsh adjacent to the Regional Shoreline. When the tide is going out the water rushes past carrying detritus and aquatic critters from the marsh, and scoters & grebes dive for goodies in this flow at the mouth of the channel:<br /><img src="http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/anatidae/susc00.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="400" /></p>

<p>Also check the riprap along Doolittle Drive for Black Oystercatchers and Turnstones.</p>

<p>In years past I would have recommended Lake Merritt near the sanctuary (in Oakland) but given the internet buzz about brazen thefts of high-end equipment in the area I'd want someone very large and very fit watching my back.</p>