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Hayward Regional Shoreline
Sun, 17 Aug 2003 15:57:51 PDT
From: Bob Richmond

Today at the Hayward Regional Shoreline -

• Barn Owl - 1 at W Winton Ave trailhead.
• Lazuli Bunting - 1 at Winton.
• Nothing unusual seen from Hayward Landing.
• Red-necked Phalaropes and Wilson's Phalaropes seen at Frank's Dump West at low tide.
• Lesser Nighthawk - 1 seen from the north end of Cabot Blvd over the upland area of Ora Loma Marsh on a fence post. Flushed by a White-tailed Kite, landed where I could not see it. Cabot is reached from W Winton Ave, it is the only stop sign on Winton west of the freeway.
• Ross' Goose - 1 at San Lorenzo Community Park may have summered here.
• Back at Frank's Dump West at high tide -

  Red Knot - hundreds
  Least Tern - 153
  Snowy Plover - several dozen
  Sanderling - 53, this is the most I have seen here
  Wandering Tattler - 1 was on the bay side of the trail

Good Birding

Bob

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Common Murre at Emeryville Marina
Sun, 17 Aug 2003 21:41:54 PDT
From: Denise Wight

Hi E.B. Birders,

On Friday afternoon, at the far end of the Emeryville Marina shoreline, on the bayside, there was a lone, young Common Murre. It didn't appear too healthy as it preened continuously, and was repeatedly hit over the head by small waves. Not a good sign. Is it possible Marbled Murrlet reports from this area could be instead young Common Murres? The bird I saw was hunkered down, giving it a very short-necked look. (See Stallcup, Ocean Birds of the Nearshore Pacific, 1990, p 143.)

Yesterday, near the parking lot at the San Leandro Regional Shoreline, an American Bittern flew over our heads, about 50 feet up. This was a first for me. They look much different from this viewpoint!

Denise Wight
Martinez, CA

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Re: RFI: Soras at Arrowhead Marsh, Oakland?
Sat, 23 Aug 2003 11:23:37 -0700
From: Mark Wales

In response to Judi Cooper's question from a month back about Soras at Arrowhead Marsh (in Martin Luther King Jr Regional Shoreline, Oakland): Today we saw, apart from numerous Clapper Rails, a pair of Virginia Rails (a juvenile and an older rail that quickly moved out of sight) and what I believe was a Sora. Unfortunately the latter was directly below my feet in the reeds and I could only get glimpses of him as he moved. But from his size, head, and back - I'm fairly sure.

Mark

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Hayward Regional Shoreline
Sun, 24 Aug 2003 18:18:49 -0700
From: Dennis & Patricia Braddy

EastBayBirders,

At Hayward Regional Shoreline, a Peregrine Falcon slashed through clouds of panic-stricken shorebirds at Frank's Dump West today and reduced their number by one. Potentially on the menu at Hayward Regional Shoreline were 17 species of shorebirds including Willet, Long-billed Curlew, Marbled Godwit, Least Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, Black Turnstone, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Black-bellied Plover, Killdeer, Western Sandpiper, Semipalmated Plover, Red-necked Phalarope, Sanderling, Snowy Plover, Red Knot, and Short-billed Dowitcher. An unfortunate peep was not much of a meal for the falcon which consumed its snack in view of the survivors atop a nearby tower. According to other birders, the Peregrine Falcon made two other forays - one successful, one not.

Before the action began, we were studying a juvenile, but full-sized, Caspian Tern resting quietly next to an equally languid adult. Least Terns loafed in the same area.

Earlier while riding our bikes on the stretch of trail between Cogswell Marsh and Johnson's Landing we flushed an American Pipit.

See the East Bay Regional Park District website for directions to the Hayward Regional Shoreline and a map showing Johnson's Landing, Cogswell Marsh, and Hayward's Landing. At high tide, shorebirds gather at Frank's Dump West, the first tidal pond (about 0.5 mile) north of Hayward's Landing.

Dennis and Patricia Braddy
San Ramon

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Semipalmated Sandpiper near Richmond Parkway
Mon, 25 Aug 2003 14:18:09 -0700
From: Stephen Long

EastBayBirders,

Birded Pt Pinole Regional Shoreline in Richmond on Sunday morning, not really expecting anything unusual, and not being disappointed. No landbird migrants to speak of and no shorebird migrants. Of mild interest was the fact that House Finches are gathering into winter (or post-breeding dispersal) flocks, with one flock numbering at least 25. A pair of Osprey circled over the Giant Grove of eucalyptus, one carrying a fish; both were molting rectrices. Other species recorded included:

• Mourning Dove -- 3
• Black Phoebe -- 2
• Downy Woodpecker -- 1 female
• Nuttall's Woodpecker -- 2, including immature male
• American Kestrel -- 1 male
• American Robin -- 2
• Anna's Hummingbird -- 1
• Belted Kingfisher -- 1
• Willet -- several
• Double-crested Cormorant -- 2
• Western Gull -- several fly-bys, adults
• Forster's Tern -- several
• Red-shouldered Hawk -- 1, molting rectrices

Driving along Richmond Parkway toward Hwy 580, I noticed a flock of peeps at the West County Wastewater District's Water Pollution Control ponds at the corner of Pittsburg Ave & Richmond Pkwy. My partner, Sharon DeCray, drew my attention to a pair of peeps slightly off to one side of the flock foraging on the sludge. One of them was a Western Sandpiper (as was the vast majority of the flock of peeps), giving a good comparison to the adjacent Semipalmated Sandpiper (written description available upon request). This was my first Contra Costa County "semipal." A few Dunlin and a couple of Killdeer rounded out the foraging flock. The birds were concentrated in the northeast corner of the south-most pond (closest to the intersection of Pittsburgh Ave & Richmond Pkwy, affording close views from the sidewalk.

Good birding,
Stephen Long
Berkeley, CA

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