Stevens Creek Trail, 10-5-08, Crittenden to tidal wetlands
A couple of Sundays ago D. and I spent a couple of hours moseying along the Stevens Creek Trail, between Crittenden Ave and the marshes at the edge of the Bay. D. took these pics.
Coyote bush seeds go flying away on the breeze.
A bend in the creek, looking upstream.
A turkey vulture in flight.
It landed in a field next to the trail and sat on a pole. It occurred to me I'd never seen a turkey vulture sitting on anything before.
I've always seen them up in the air.
Ducks and egrets in the creek.
A big jet lands at Moffett Field, right next to the trail. Maybe it's Sergey?
More of Moffett Field and its blimp hangar and storage tanks.
A milk snail estivating on a wild fennel stalk. Both snail and plant are naturalized non-native species.
A pheasant flying across the trail lands in the brush nearby. The pheasant is non-native as well, having been introduced long ago for hunters to shoot.
Power lines striding across the trail loom in the cloudy sky.
The trail as it nears the wetlands.
Creek and powerlines.
More ducks and egrets.
This tower looks like it has 3 pairs of arms carrying little briefcases.
A closer look at those briefcase things, whatever they are. It looked like about every other tower was outfitted like that.
Marsh close to the edge of the wildlife refuge. Duck season begins any day now.
A box of spent shotgun shells next to the refuge entrance.
If it's a refuge for wildlife, why is there hunting?
(I know, I know, I know . . . 
)
The gate into the wildlife refuge from the trail. Birds apparently like to hang out there.
Getting further into the marshes.
Soaring seagull in overcast skies.
A dry salt pond look like a desert landscape.
The little white things in the dried mud are dead brine shrimps (which are not true shrimps).
Some of the odd landscape elements along the trail.
This little guy looks kind of like a wooly bear, but I don't think it is -- it doesn't have that reddish band.
Swallow nests under a pedestrian bridge across the creek. The birds have long since abandoned them. Look closely and you can see a few that have even begun to disintegrate.
On our way back we saw the pheasant again, clucking a deep alarm call as a hawk flew overhead. He sounded just like a baritone chicken.
Neighboring NASA Ames doesn't want anybody nosing around their campus at Moffett Field.
More egrets look for fish in the creek as we turn to head back home.
A couple of Sundays ago D. and I spent a couple of hours moseying along the Stevens Creek Trail, between Crittenden Ave and the marshes at the edge of the Bay. D. took these pics.
Coyote bush seeds go flying away on the breeze.
A bend in the creek, looking upstream.
A turkey vulture in flight.
It landed in a field next to the trail and sat on a pole. It occurred to me I'd never seen a turkey vulture sitting on anything before.
Ducks and egrets in the creek.
A big jet lands at Moffett Field, right next to the trail. Maybe it's Sergey?
More of Moffett Field and its blimp hangar and storage tanks.
A milk snail estivating on a wild fennel stalk. Both snail and plant are naturalized non-native species.
A pheasant flying across the trail lands in the brush nearby. The pheasant is non-native as well, having been introduced long ago for hunters to shoot.
Power lines striding across the trail loom in the cloudy sky.
The trail as it nears the wetlands.
Creek and powerlines.
More ducks and egrets.
This tower looks like it has 3 pairs of arms carrying little briefcases.
A closer look at those briefcase things, whatever they are. It looked like about every other tower was outfitted like that.
Marsh close to the edge of the wildlife refuge. Duck season begins any day now.
A box of spent shotgun shells next to the refuge entrance.
If it's a refuge for wildlife, why is there hunting?
The gate into the wildlife refuge from the trail. Birds apparently like to hang out there.
Getting further into the marshes.
Soaring seagull in overcast skies.
A dry salt pond look like a desert landscape.
The little white things in the dried mud are dead brine shrimps (which are not true shrimps).
Some of the odd landscape elements along the trail.
This little guy looks kind of like a wooly bear, but I don't think it is -- it doesn't have that reddish band.
Swallow nests under a pedestrian bridge across the creek. The birds have long since abandoned them. Look closely and you can see a few that have even begun to disintegrate.
On our way back we saw the pheasant again, clucking a deep alarm call as a hawk flew overhead. He sounded just like a baritone chicken.
Neighboring NASA Ames doesn't want anybody nosing around their campus at Moffett Field.
More egrets look for fish in the creek as we turn to head back home.
.