Think of this as a virtual coffee table book to
browse. It’s the result of 5 years of kayaking at Bair Island in
Redwood City and recent “discoveries” of walking sites along the
Peninsula SF Bay shore. Places like Palo Alto Baylands,
Ravenswood Park in Menlo Park and Coyote Point in San Mateo,
where there is great bird viewing for not much effort.
As of this writing in 2025, we’ve been kayaking at Bair
for over 20 years now, but it was only in 2020 that my camera
technology really made for decent wildlife pictures. This was
the acquisition of a point-and-shoot Canon SX740 HS with its
impressive 40x zoom; and it fit in my PFD pocket for easy
access. Then in late 2024, another step up with Canon’s “hybrid”
SX70 with its 60x zoom and through-the-lens viewing. When
kayaking I keep it in a small dry bag in my lap (sitting on the
spray skirt) and held in place with a binoculars harness. This
has worked great. The zoom is impressive as is the image
stabilization.
Kayaking during the pandemic was an ideal escape - paddle
for 20’ and you’re alone. We ramped up our visits to Bair as
soon as the distance limit was expanded, with a no-excuse policy
to make sure we got out. Even though we largely take the same
routes each weekend, there is tremendous variety in how Bair
looks depending on the tide (up to 10’ tides make quite a
difference!) and who we will see on any given outing - the
“regulars” as well as the odd visitor not usually seen in the
area. Examples there were a short-eared owl and a golden eagle.
An unusual “what” was a skull attached atop a channel marker
after Halloween 2020, and then seeing what birds would sit on
it.
At low tide, you’re paddling in canyons; at high tide,
Bair can be almost completely flooded and you can paddle almost
anywhere you want (
typical kayaking route - 8.75 miles).
In 2020 a pair of osprey took up residence in one of the
transmission towers at Bair and they really caught my fancy -
every weekend we would paddle by to see how they were doing -
building the nest; tending to it; new osprey; kids leaving the
nest. This was an annual ritual through 2024; they did not
appear in 2025. In spring of 2025, I spotted an
osprey close up
at Coyote Point and noticed it was banded. I was able to
identify the bird ("Lassen") and determine that it had been
banded at the Port of Richmond in 2020 before it could fly. I
also learned that the USGS rewards reports of banded birds with
a
certificate.
This triggered a more general interest, noticing more and
more of the bird and seal life at Bair. And having a decent
camera to photograph them.
After I retired in mid-2024, I started doing a lot more
walking and realized (with the help of SLAC colleague Christine
Soldahl - a real birder) that there is lots to see from land for
water birds at the Palo Alto Baylands (white pelicans), Menlo
Park’s Ravenswood (huge flocks of shore birds) and the Coyote
Point Marina (brown pelican feeding frenzies in the shallows).
My favourites are the pelicans - prehistoric looking,
weirdly flexible and we love watching them skim above the
surface - even more so when they are coming right at you and
just rise above as they reach you. I do hope “our” osprey return
in 2026.
2025-12-17
