Author-illustrator Alex Harris will give a virtual presentation about his new book: Birds of Lake Merritt, a richly illustrated birding guide to the nation’s first official wildlife refuge. Please register here for the link to access the presentation live on Zoom.  

This charming full-color field guide introduces us to fifteen waterbirds easily found in the urban wildlife refuge of Lake Merritt in Oakland. In his introduction, author-illustrator Alex Harris includes a history of the lake, providing context for a place that is alluring to humans and shorebirds alike. Each species profile of the lake’s feathered residents is accompanied by a beautiful, detailed watercolor that captures the bird’s distinctive coloring and sinuous physicality. The black-crowned night heron, Oakland’s official city bird, stares with its startling orange eyes, while the American coot flexes its fancy flared feet. Along with straightforward notes on the identification of each bird, Harris features the voices of Oakland community members, sharing moments of delight from the birds’ most dedicated observers. A celebration of avian life and the human pleasure of witnessing it, Birds of Lake Merrit