Sat. April 18, 9am-12am
Tucked away east of Fremont, in south-east Alameda County, is Sunol Regional Park, perhaps the most beautiful and wild of Alameda’s nature preserves. Covered in oak woodlands, surrounded by high crags and bisected by Alameda Creek, it is home to a great variety of birds, small mammals, butterflies and other wildlife. As we walk through the woodlands that line the creek, we hear the cackling of Acorn woodpeckers and see flycatchers, nuthatches, vireos, warblers and wrens flitting through the trees. On the hillsides several kinds of swallows cut their graceful patterns in the sky, accompanied by Western bluebirds and noisy Ravens. And occasionally we can see, soaring in the big open sky along the cliffs, Golden eagles, Red-tails and White-tailed Kites. Only one word sums up this secluded natural treasure: extraordinary! Great landscape photography opportunities. (Parking fee) For lunch try Sunol, a tiny nearby village, or the little town of Niles with their museum of silent film. (Charlie Chaplin once walked these streets!)