[EBB Sightings] Pectoral Sandpiper still in Livermore

The Pectoral Sandpiper was still present at 1 pm today foraging in the stream on the downstream side of the bridge. I watched for approx. 20 minutes, during which it was never more than 40 feet from the bridge.  It was remarkably tame and cooperative - they don't come any easier than this.

Along with the Pec were 11 dowitchers, which all appeared to Long-billed.  The few calls I heard all were a sharp "peep" or "keep" and the tertials were plain, including the juvenile ones still not yet molted.  The birds were close enough to see this with binoculars.  There was also one little sandpiper that I believe was a Least and 5 Black-necked Stilts.  I did not walk the stream, but had one Snowy Egret fly by and saw another farther downstream.  An American Kestrel was hovering over the fields on the E side of Bluebell by the stream. Black Phoebe, Lesser Goldfinch, Audubon's Warbler, and Ruby-crowned Kinglets were also present.

Jaan Lepson
Livermore
Alameda Co.
 
>Thursday morning from 7:50 am to 10:30 am, there was a Pectoral Sandpiper in
>Altamont Creek, at the bridge on Bluebell Avenue in Springtown, about two
>blocks north of Scenic Avenue.  It was spending time in seeps entering the
>stream
>from the edges, within 50 yards of the bridge, both upstream and downstream.
>My last sighting of Pectoral Sandpiper in Livermore was from September 27 to
>October 3, 1998, at Frick Lake, on Laughlin Avenue.
>Accompanying the Pectoral Sandpiper were 4 Least Sandpipers.  Nearby, within
>a mile upstream and downstream, were Mallards, Cinnamon Teal, Great Blue
>Heron,
>Great Egret, Green Heron, Ring-necked Pheasant, Killdeer, Black-necked
>Stilt,
>Greater Yellowlegs, Wilson's Snipe, Long-billed Dowitchers, Anna's
>Hummingbird,
>Belted Kingfisher, Black Phoebe, Loggerhead Shrike, Scrub Jay, American
>Crow,
>Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, American Pipit, Common
>Yellowthroat,
>Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow,
>Golden-crowned Sparrow, Brewer's Blackbird, Red-winged Blackbird, House
>Finch,
>and House Sparrow.  White-tailed Kites and Northern Harriers are often seen
>in the
>fields to the north, on Dalton, Dagnino, May School, Hartford and Lorraine
>roads.
>Access from outside Livermore is at First Street, which splits into Bluebell
>Avenue
>and Springtown Boulevard one block north of Hwy 580.
>Art Edwards