Eagles, Hidden Paths, and April Showers in Piedmont

Last Wednesday was April Fool’s Day and our Piedmont Recreation Department’s Walking on Wednesdays group may have thought the weather gods and I were trying to fool them when they assembled at the Exedra for their weekly walk.

We say it never rains on Wednesday mornings in Piedmont, but the weather forecast said there would be some around 11 AM. Additionally, it was the first Wednesday in April and the American Heart Association’s “National Walking Day.” I had said we could have a good, long walk and visit homes that were built in the mostly forgotten, 1907 “Grand Avenue Heights” real estate development, which was on the southwest side of the city. The Heart Association says studies have shown that walking for thirty to sixty minutes per day can drastically improve your health and even help prevent ailments like type II diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.

However, to get to the Grand Avenue Heights streets, we would have to walk through Piedmont Park and its trails can be slippery when they are wet. It was better to be safe, and there was some other fun Piedmont sightseeing we could do, so the morning’s plan was changed.

A good turnout of 31 water-resistant walkers and two K-9 best friends at the Exedra were ready for any April 1^st challenge and the fun.

Last spring Piedmont residents came down with eagle mania. A pair of bald eagles nested in a eucalyptus tree at the edge of Mountain View Cemetery and their eaglets hatched in May. These are considered the first bald eagle chicks in the Oakland/Piedmont area in recent history. Going to see them was a popular event for Piedmonters and Wednesday walkers too. 

Eagles typically return to the same nest each year, adding new material with every breeding season. Piedmont’s two eagles came back last month and that meant eagle watching was back too. It was too early for little ones to hatch, but we were still interested in checking out the nest. So, the corner of Moraga and Monte Avenues, where it could be seen, was our new destination. However, along the way, there were other fun things to see.

Our first surprise came as we crossed Highland Avenue and started up it. The construction fence around the Valero gas station was gone and the work that had been going on for months looked to be complete.

Just across Highland Way was the Piedmont Community Church. Last August we had gone to see a memorial mediation garden had just opened at the back of the church, up a path on Highland Avenue. We were interested in visiting it again. It includes a labyrinth and fountain and is dedicated to church member Judy W late husband, Bob, who died in 2024. Church member Sonja G, who was a Piedmont High senior and now attends Boston University, helped create the garden as her Girl Scout Gold Award Project. Church member Suzie K, Church Council President Paul S, and other volunteers also worked on it.

We went down the short path to this hidden gem and stopped to appreciate the tranquility of the slowly closing, circular stone labyrinth and the small water fountain. Mike G noted a new magnolia alba, or white champaca, at the front of the garden. Mike has one in his garden and said the tree has fragrant flowers and its leaves can be used to make a perfume.

We went back to Highland and up Oakland Avenue to the one-block Hardwick Avenue. Mid way down it is the Landon Court cul-de-sac with a view of San Francisco. It is also where two members of our group, who were absent this morning, live. In the spirit of the day, a walker took a dare and rang the doorbell. No one answered so it was assumed the missing walkers were doing something fun too. The front of their house seemed to be a happy spot for our group photo.

We went back to Hardwick and then down Blair and Highland Avenues, up Park Way and Monte Avenue to Monte’s corner with Moraga. There were no birdwatchers on hand, but as we looked across to the eagles’ nest, a friendly neighbor came out and gave us an update on the birds. They were not visible right then, but they are back and taking turns sitting on their eggs, which need to be regularly rotated. He thought the eaglets would hatch a couple of weeks earlier this year. He was asked if he would like to be named in our weekly article in the Piedmont Post. He declined, saying the birders who monitor the eagles are pretty strident about all things eagle and it is better for novices, like himself, to remain anonymous in what they say about the birds. 

However, from our visit last year, more information was shared. Bald eagles typically live between 20 and 30 years in the wild. The oldest bald eagle on record lived to be 47 years old. Young bald eagles are dark in color but develop their characteristic white head and tail at about four to five years. Nests are built with large sticks and may be lined with moss, grass, plant stalks, lichens, seaweed, and sod. They are usually about 4 to 6 feet in diameter and 3 feet deep, although larger nests have been seen. Bald eagles come out during the daytime and often eat after sunrise but can hunt anytime in daylight.

Eagles’ eyesight is incredible. They can see a rabbit running up to three miles away or a fish down in the water, but eagles don't have good night vision. They need to find a branch and tuck in at night. Eagles’ hearing is similar to humans, okay, but not great. They also do not have a very well-developed sense of taste and smell. This benefits them because they are scavengers. Their breeding season lasts from about January through July or August. Bald eagles mate for life. Both the male and female work together to construct a nest, usually high in a living tree. Males and females also share incubation responsibilities, but the female typically spends more time on the nest.

We said we would come back when the eaglets hatch and it was time to go see more fun Piedmont sights. We went down Moraga, across Highland, to Estrella Avenue. There were some beautiful rhododendron blooms to enjoy along Estrella as well as a pair of matching homes, built in 1923, both with cone shaped, terracotta roofs above their front entrances.

We continued down Ramona Avenue to Monticello Avenue and stopped there to see who could find something unique. Charlene Louise pointed out that along the side of the home that we were in front of is a path. It looks like it’s part of the house’s yard, but is actually a hidden, public path that we took up to the Lorita Avenue cul-de-sac. Paths like this one were used in the first half of the 20^th Century as shortcuts by Key System train riders and Piedmont students to more quickly get to their train or school.

Some short-lived rain finally arrived as we went down Lorita to Monticello. At Monticello’s end, just before the roadway turns up hill and becomes Park Way, is another hidden path. We took it down to Artuna Avenue and an entrance to Dracena Park. We were struck by the strong smell from the eucalyptus trees that the rain had unleashed. Jack Fischrup’s K-9 best friend Kojak probably had the most fun of our group when he got off leash and had his run of the park.

We completed our April 1^st walk by going up Blair, Bonita, and Visita Avenues to the Exedra. We had visited a variety of interesting Piedmont places and things, some hidden, others visible, and others coming. We had fun and will be back next week. There was no fooling about it.