San Fransisco area January, suggestions?

[Randy Mehoves]

I will be in the San Fransisco area the first 2 weeks in January visiting relatives and would like recommendations for photo spots. I am primarily interested in birds, wildlife and then scenics.
Thanks in advance,
Randy

[pm4236]

Will you be able to do a day trip just beyond the Bay Area or is this only in the Bay Area itself?

[CJ Hockett]

I will also be in the south bay, woodside, during early jan and would appreciate any suggestions. I have a class b rv and can make day or over night trips. Primarily interested in wild bird photo ops.
cj
cjhockett.com

[Nick Dunlop]

The Monterey area south on Highway 1 is beautiful. Elkhorn Slough for otters and seals, the entire coastline for pelicans...drive south on Hwy 1 and keep your eyes open, or north to Pt Reyes and go out towards McClures Beach or the lighthouse....Elk in the hills, some birds on the coast, great scenery. The Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park is supposed to be fantastic...an easy 1/2 day to 1 day trip in the city. Or go east to the Sacramento Wildlife Refuge and take the auto tour. And check out the other refuges in the immediate area...lots of migratory waterfowl. If your ambitious try Yosemite, could have some snow which makes for some fabulous images. Those are my quick pics...have fun!! Nick

[Dave Courtenay]

Embarcadero road for birds-go to the end of the road and turn left, There is a duck pond which is always full and then carry on to the bay-lots of waders,ducks etc and some raptors, Anu Neuavo for bull seals (highway 1)and sea birds

Have fun

Dave

[pm4236]

Agree with what the others have suggested. Below are some links:

Birds

Sacramento NWR
http://www.fws.gov/sacramentovalleyrefuges/
San Luis NWR
http://www.fws.gov/sanluis/
Merced NWR
http://www.fws.gov/sanluis/merced_info.htm

(San Luis NWR also has Elk. Merced NWR is a few miles east of San Luis so you can easily hit two NWRs the same day. All the National Wildlife Refuges are about a two-hour drive from SF and should have lots of birds because they're on the Pacific flyway and it's migration time.)

Otters/Birds
Moss Landing
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/lands/wa/region4/mosslanding.html

Landscapes/Coast (actually anywhere from Pt. Reyes south is good if weather cooperates.) Of course, there's also the Marin headlands, north end of Golden Gate bridge which provides nice views of the bridge against the city.
Pt. Lobos Reserve
http://pt-lobos.parks.state.ca.us/Information.html

[Jerry_Jelinek]

I will also make the same recommendations as mentioned. I'm actually considering heading out to Point Reyes in late January for the Elephant Seal Pup weaning period. I think the timing will be right. I'm a HUGE fan of Point Reyes because of the availability of wild life, landscapes and you have the place to yourself mostly. Can't recommend Point Reyes highly enough.

Here is a link to my images from 3 different trips to Point Reyes

Point Reyes Images

Feel free to email me if you have any questions on Point Reyes.

Enjoy the trip.

[Randy Mehoves]

Will you be able to do a day trip just beyond the Bay Area or is this only in the Bay Area itself?

Actually, I'm not really restricted to just the Bay area and a day or two trip can be done.
Thanks for the suggestions so far, I'll check out the links!

[abiggs]

Don't forget about Palo Alto Baylands. I used to go walking there a few times each week before work, and they have some great birding opportunities.

[Larry Rosier]

For Sandhill Cranes Lodi, CA is 70 miles east of San Francisco. See:

http://www.dfg.ca.gov/regions/3/cranetour/

[CJ Hockett]

by Larry Rosier on Sat Nov 07, 2009 7:00 am

For Sandhill Cranes Lodi, CA is 70 miles east of San Francisco. See:

Larry,
thanks for the suggestion. Are there areas you could recommend where one can photograph sandhill cranes coming to night roost with either front or back lighting? I am looking for avian scapes similar to those at Bosque.
cj

[brianz]

by Larry Rosier on Sat Nov 07, 2009 7:00 am

For Sandhill Cranes Lodi, CA is 70 miles east of San Francisco. See:

Larry,
thanks for the suggestion. Are there areas you could recommend where one can photograph sandhill cranes coming to night roost with either front or back lighting? I am looking for avian scapes similar to those at Bosque.
cj

Merced NWR!

[brianz]

Don't forget about Palo Alto Baylands. I used to go walking there a few times each week before work, and they have some great birding opportunities.

I second that - I used to live in the Bay Area, and now we visit family over the holidays every year, and if I only have a couple hours, I head straight to the mudflats at the Baylands. The area right behind the Duck Pond is my favorite. You're pretty much guaranteed to have the opportunity to fire off a few hundred frames of all kinds of shorebirds (low tide best of course), migratory ducks like shovelers and teals, and typically some surprise raptor flybys.

[Terence P. Brashear]

Second on Palo Alto Baylands. Make sure you visit during high tide to get images of rails. At really high tides you can potentially see Black Rail.

[szaydel]

Montara State Beach and Mori point are good places for Sunset Photography.

[schlansker]

If you are interested in redwoods, Muir Woods has opportunities especially on an overcast day. Warning, this is a popular place.

[Randy Mehoves]

Wow, lots of info and Palo Alto Baylands looks like a must see!

[penghai]

If you are interested in thousands of Monarch Butterflies, then Natural Bridge State Beach in Santa Cruz. January is when they are about to leave, so visit early.

Eric