Feel it? I heard the first acorn rap onto my deck then roll to a
stop. The evenings have autumn’s peculiar sleepy stillness that
makes me want to crawl into a den and hunker down. The critters
feel a restless itch, and the trees are hinting that a change is
coming. Fall is in the air.
Feel it? I heard the first acorn rap onto my deck then roll to a stop. The evenings have autumn’s peculiar sleepy stillness that makes me want to crawl into a den and hunker down. The critters feel a restless itch, and the trees are hinting that a change is coming. Fall is in the air.
The sadness I felt as a child with the passing of summer is gone, and now I look forward to the changes autumn brings. Our summers our wonderful, but let’s be honest; they are also monotonous. Watching our summer sky is like staring at an empty stage in an empty theater. Great weather, but boring.
Changes are afoot; millions of birds are moving, and the dingy horizon will soon be wiped clean under increasingly dramatic skies. Let’s go.
One hundred fifty years ago, the Pacific flyway was a corridor for 66 million migrating birds. Since then, 38 million people have come here, so the wetlands and wildlife habitats have given way to agriculture and development in order to feed and house us all. Nevertheless, six million birds still pass through our state every year, and they gather in impressive numbers.
Even if you don’t give a darn about birds, there are few thrills greater than standing beneath the raucous noise and fierce life force of thousands of snow geese, tundra swans and Sandhill cranes as they converge all around you at sunset. While any of California’s many wildlife refuges can provide this experience throughout the fall, plan a November trip to the Woodbridge Ecological Reserve (aka Isenberg Sandhill Crane Reserve) just off Interstate 5 15 miles north of Stockton. Last November I arrived there late afternoon and was disappointed to see a couple lazy ducks on a still pond. But when dusk arrived, the sky came alive. Everyone there simply stood awestruck as thousands of exotic waterfowl converged around us.
Raptors don’t like to cross large bodies of water. Marin County pinches out at the Marin Headlands where southbound raptors run out of options and are funneled over Hawk Hill. Now and for the next several months, volunteers from the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory will be atop Hawk Hill on the Marin Headlands, monitoring the parade of unusual hawks, falcons, harriers, kites and other raptors that pass over this very spot.
On my several visits there the variety and frequency of avian passers-by – with spotters calling out each species – makes for a great day. If raptors aren’t your thing, just turn around and look at the San Francisco skyline beyond the Golden Gate Bridge. On your way there, look to your left as you cross the Golden Gate Bridge at the only tree-covered hilltop outside the gate. That’s it. Exit at Alexander Avenue, swing under the freeway and back toward San Francisco. Turn up the hill just before you merge back onto the bridge.
For an outing a little less spectacular, but much closer to home, take your lunch burrito out to Ogiers Ponds. Two and a half miles north of Cochrane Road, turn right off of Monterey Road by the two high-voltage power poles. This time of year, the gulls and coots are joined by a variety of ducks and other waterfowl that are wintering here or passing through.
Fall color. Some say we don’t have any, and by New England standards. They’re right. But New England doesn’t have the Sierra Nevada. If you cross Tioga Pass to Highway 395 on the east side of the Sierra, you can find amazing color in an unbelievable setting. Some favorites are Conway Summit, Buckeye Creek, McGee Creek, Lundy Canyon and Rock Creek. Late September into mid-October is when the area sings.
Don’t let another autumn pass unnoticed.
