Went for a morning ride on the Alameda Creek trail...1948 Schwinn, badged "Dixieland"...
That Alameda Creek Regional Trail follows the banks of Alameda Creek in southern Alameda County from the mouth of Niles Canyon (in the Niles District of Fremont) westward to San Francisco Bay - a distance of about 12 miles.
The trail on the south bank provides access to Coyote Hills Regional Park. An additional 3.5-mile-loop trail off the Alameda Creek Trail, into and out of Coyote Hills, and back onto the Alameda Creek Trail, qualifies in distance for marathon runs. For those who want to clock shorter distances along the trail, markers have been installed at quarter-mile intervals.
Starting out at the Brookvale trail...
Riding upstream first to the Niles Staging area...
Alameda Creek...
Turned around here and headed toward Coyote Hills...
Nice Fremont buck, not seen often...
to Coyote Hills...
and S. F. Bay...
American white pelicans..
Brown pelicans spend summer and fall here, then fly south to breed in Mexico and at the Channel Islands along the southern California coast. They are also seen occasionally around the South Bay during winter.
However, around the South Bay, the American white pelican (
pelecanus erythrorhynchos) is much more common, especially at the Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge. White pelicans are even larger than brown pelicans, with wingspans averaging nine feet. They are snowy white, with black flight feathers visible only when their wings are spread. These birds nest and breed at inland U.S. lakes during spring and summer, then spend late fall and winter in the Bay Area.
Great day for a ride!!