Full Review: Lake Merritt

Lake Merritt is the oldest wildlife refuge in North America.  There are five human-made bird islands a few feet from the shoreline and a sanctuary that act as a stop-over for thousands of migratory water and land birds.  Bring your binoculars to watch snowy egrets, great blue & black-crowned night herons, Canadian & Egyptian geese, Mandarin, pintail, wood and ring-necked ducks, coots, cormorants, gulls, white-eyed and surf scoters, grebes, brown pelicans, gadwalls, common and re-throated loons, Eurasian and American wigeons, and many other species of birds.  There is also a bird sanctuary.

 

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                                        Bird islands

 

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                Bird islands                             Bird sanctuary

 

There is a Nature Center with restrooms nearby.  Outside of the Nature Center there is a protected area where birds stop to rest so you can get close to them.  There is ample parking by the Nature Center.

 

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                    Duck                               Nature center

 

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              Egret                             Mallard duck

 

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                     Coot                         Black-crowned night heron

 

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          Plentiful parking