page_title: Albany Bulb
section_title: Natural conditions and ecology
hierarchical_section_title: Albany Bulb / Natural conditions and ecology
context_page_description: The Albany Bulb is a former landfill largely owned by the City of Albany, in California. The Bulb is the west end of a landfill peninsula jutting west from the east shore of San Francisco Bay. The term "Bulb" is often used to refer to the entire peninsula, which includes the Albany Plateau, north of Buchanan Street at its base; the high narrow "Neck," and the round "Bulb." The Bulb is part of the City of Albany, and can be reached via Buchanan Street or the Bay Trail along the east side of San Francisco Bay.
context_section_description: Bay currents were altered by creation of the Bulb and fill peninsulas to the north and south (Pt. Isabel was natural, but its hill was dynamited in the 1950s and marshes between it and the mainland were filled). One result has been westward extension of tidal mudflats at the mouths of Codornices, Village, and Marin Creeks, between the Bulb peninsula and Pt. Isabel. These are the Albany Mudflats, protected as important habitat for waterfowl and shorebirds. The wooden posts in the area often serve as perches for Peregrine Falcons and ospreys eating their catches.
  Another result was formation of Albany Beach—low dunes and a sandy beach running south between the Bulb peninsula and Fleming Point. Sandy beaches are rare on San Francisco Bay, but strong tidal current to and from the Golden Gate tend to create them along the Berkeley and Albany shorelines. The beach has been heavily used by dog owners for decades.
  Strong winds make the water south of the Bulb peninsula, off the beach, popular with wind- and kite- surfers. Eel grass near the Bulb tip is important subtidal habitat. The sheltered lagoon at the west end is a calm-water refuge during storms, and shorebirds use its riprap edge at high tide.
  Like other abandoned dumps, the Bulb became quickly vegetated. The vegetation is largely non-native, including weeds such as acacias, broom, and fennel; exotics such as palm and large thickets of Himalayan blackberries. 
  The Bulb provides habitat for a variety of wildlife, including songbirds, rats, mice, black-tailed hares, as well as snakes, hawks and barn owls that feed on them.
  The Plateau area, once popular for flying model airplanes, has been partly fenced off as habitat for burrowing owls, as mitigation for habitat taken by sports fields to the south. As of 2016, a birder sighted and photographed at least one burrowing owl when dogs that are not permitted within the enclosed area entered it and flushed the bird out of the vegetation. The owl has since been spotted there again, but concerns about disturbance by dogs remain for this species that is quickly disappearing as a result of loss of habitat from development. 
  The south shore's riprap is largely un-vegetated, but lagoons and some gentler shoreline on the north, facing the Albany Mudflats have welcomed typical salt-marsh vegetation such as pickleweed, salt grass, and gum plant.
caption: A beached jellyfish and kelp on the sandy shore of the Bulb
exif: {"Image Make": "Apple", "Image Model": "iPhone 4", "Image Orientation": "Rotated 90 CW", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "4.2.10", "Image DateTime": "2012:09:29 16:51:15", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "194", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "658", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "11607", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/429", "EXIF FNumber": "14/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "80", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2012:09:29 16:51:15", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2012:09:29 16:51:15", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "7939/908", "EXIF ApertureValue": "4281/1441", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Average", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "77/20", "EXIF SubjectArea": "[1295, 967, 699, 696]", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2592", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1936", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF Sharpness": "Hard"}