Annual Butterfly and Bird Festival
Increasing the numbers and health of butterflies, birds, and local pollinators is the theme of the annual Butterfly and Bird Festival, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 4, at Coyote Hills Regional Park in Fremont.
Features will include tours of the park’s garden, family-friendly activities, special presentations, music, and information on how to establish wildlife-friendly gardens at home. All ages are welcome; parent participation is required. Registration is not necessary. The festival is free of charge. Coyote Hills has a parking fee of $5 per vehicle. Coyote Hills is at the end of Patterson Ranch Road off Paseo Padre Parkway. For information, call 510-544-3220.
Coyote Hills also will host “Sonidos En La Naturaleza – Sounds in Nature,” from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 3, with naturalist Martha Cerda. “Sonidos” is a series of bi-lingual programs in English and Spanish, during which participants learn about the sounds of the natural world and the animals that produce them. The program is free of charge and registration is not necessary. All ages are welcome; meet at the Coyote Hills visitor center. For information, call 510-544-3220.
“Amazing Jellies,” those go-with-the-flow bay denizens, are the stars of Family Nature Fun Hour, from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 3, in the Doug Siden Visitor Center at Crab Cove in Crown Beach, Alameda. The program repeats at the same time on Sunday, June 4. The program is free; registration is not necessary. Crab Cove is at 1252 McKay Ave. off Alameda’s Central Avenue. For information, call 510-544-3187.
Oyster Bay Regional Shoreline in San Leandro will be the venue for a Sunday Stroll from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on June 4 with naturalist Kevin Dixon. This is a mostly flat, three-mile walk around a shoreline park with great bay views and wildlife. It’s fun for families with small children. You can also test out your Disc Golf skills. Discs will be provided. The stroll is free of charge and registration is not necessary. Meet Kevin at the park’s entrance at 1600 Neptune Drive. For information, call Crab Cove at 510-544-3187.
The Over-The-Hills Gang is an informal group of hikers 55 and older, interested in nature study, fitness and fun, which visits a different regional park each month. The gang will explore Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park in Oakland during a sometimes-hilly hike, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 6, led by naturalist Anthony Fisher. Registration is not needed, and the hike is free of charge. Meet Anthony at the park’s Canyon Meadow Staging Area. It’s at the end of the road leading into the park from Redwood Road, about two miles east of the Redwood Road/Skyline Boulevard intersection. For information, call 510-544-2233.
Tilden Nature Area and the Little Farm near Berkeley will celebrate Pride month with a “Pride in the Park” event on Sunday, June 4. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., bring a picnic and enjoy a variety of family friendly activities, music and nature programs at the Environmental Education Center (EEC) and Little Farm. Everyone is welcome; the event is free of charge. The EEC and Little Farm are at the north end of Tilden’s Central Park Drive, accessible via Canon Drive from Grizzly Peak Boulevard in Berkeley. For information, call 510-544-2233.
Cloud gazing is the plan for a program from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 3, at Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve in Antioch. Besides imagining cloud shapes and forms while reclining on a grassy hillside, the group will learn how clouds take shape and what weather they may portend. The program is free; best for kids ages 5 through 12 with parental participation. Registration is not necessary. Black Diamond Mines is at the end of Somersville Road, 3½ miles south of Highway 4. Meet at the end of the road, about a mile past the park’s entrance kiosk. There is a parking fee of $5 per vehicle when the kiosk is attended. For information, call 510-544-2750.
Wildlife games are on the agenda during a naturalist-led program from 11 a.m. to noon on Sunday, June 4 at Big Break Regional Shoreline in Oakley. It’s designed for kids ages 5 through 12, who will test their wildlife skills and learn what it takes to live like an animal at Big Break on the Delta. The program is free, and registration is not necessary. Big Break Regional Shoreline is at 69 Big Break Road off Oakley’s Main Street. For information, call 510-544-3050.
These are just a few of the programs planned in the Regional Parks in coming days. For a full list, visit www.ebparks.org/things-to-do.