Top-flight trails for bird-watching

Circling the San Francisco Bay, the 500mile planned San Francisco Bay Trail brings us front and center to the largest estuary on the West Coast, as well as the flyways of colorful resident and migrant birds. As a bonus, pickleweed, a plant found in the bay’s salt marshes, turns magenta-red in autumn, offering a glimpse of fall foliage.

Whether you’re stretching your legs post-holiday feast or enjoying the crisp weather, fall and winter are a wonderful time to hike the Bay Trail, as birds zip through on the Pacific Flyway, “the birds’ highway system,” says Carolyn Knight, education and outreach manager for the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society. “With the flyway running through here, it makes for a really vibrant and changing ecosystem right within our neighborhoods. It’s a fantastic opportunity to (see) an amazing diversity without having to go very far.”

Keep your eyes open for ducks, as well as shorebirds, she says: “We have the teals — green wing teal, blue-wing teal, cinnamon teal — which are just amazingly colorful. Beyond that, we get a lot of shorebirds in. There’s an incredible diversity of size and shape, from the least sandpiper, North America’s smallest shorebird, to the long-billed curlew.”

Here are four family-friendly hikes along the Bay Trail in Oakland, Fremont, Mountain View and more that lead to birding hot spots — plus tips on delicious spots nearby where you can grab a pre- or post-hike bite. Find more Bay Trail hiking inspiration at baytrail.org.

Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline

Tucked behind Alameda Island and Oakland Airport, the Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline brings bird-watchers to some prime views and two public art installations along San Leandro Bay. Trace the eastern edge of the bay, as well as creeks and sloughs, on this 4.25-mile round-trip hike to Arrowhead Marsh.

Begin at the marsh observation tower and take in a 180-degree view of the arrowhead-shaped marsh and San Leandro Bay. Finches and sparrows flit among coyote brush, while egrets fly overhead. Take the wooden boardwalk out to Arrowhead Marsh, where endangered Ridgway’s rails hide furtively in the cordgrass.

Just across, you’ll spot “Duplex Cone,” one of two artworks along this route; “Fluid Dynamics” is near Damon Slough. Continue north on the mostly flat, paved multi-use trail to East Creek Slough, keeping your eyes peeled for hawks, plovers and sandpipers, as well as diving ducks like scaups. Turn around at the East Creek Slough bridge and retrace your steps when ready.

tinyurl.com/arrowhead-marsh

TRAIL MAP » PARK DETAILS » The park opens at 8 a.m. daily, with closing hours that vary by season. Closing time is 5 p.m. from November through January, for example. The Arrowhead Marsh entrance is located 0.1 mile northeast of the Doolittle Drive and Swan Way junction in Oakland. Follow the park road to the end for the Arrowhead Marsh parking lot. Find details at ebparks.org. GRAB A BITE » Alameda’s Julie’s Coffee & Tea Garden whips up espresso and tea beverages, along with treats like immunity nuggets ($2 each) and sandwiches from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily at 1223 Park St. in Alameda. Peek at the menu and order online at juliestea.com.

Wooden boardwalks offer prime water views of Arrowhead Marsh at the Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline. Hikers also will find plenty of migrating birds and even art installations, such as “Duplex Cone,” above right, on this stretch of the San Francisco Bay Trail.

Spot white herons, pelicans and other birds in the sloughs of Shoreline at Mountain View.