A September kayak trip past Alameda's newest island - Breakwater Island - brought the brown pelicans into focus under the subdued light of an overcast sky. Not the sunny day I was hoping for, and their numbers were down from the over 500 pelicans spotted from land a few weeks prior, but the trip yielded some good photos nonetheless.
If you plan a kayak trip to see the pelicans, the breakwater is off limits to people. View it as a marine/wildlife sanctuary (which hopefully it will one day be designated). The other note is to pay attention to the tide and stay in the channel unless you are in excellent physical shape. An outward tide in the Bay can leave you paddling in place going nowhere.
The photo essay is posted on the Alameda Point Environmental Report.
