[EBB Sightings] Pt. Isabel/Meeker Slough- Richmond

Before heading over to the El Cerrito Trader Joe's to stock up for  
Thanksgiving, I walked the bay trail north from Pt. Isabel around  
noon today. The tide was completely wrong for shorebirds, and the  
walk started slowly in terms of birds.  I was hoping the high water  
might force some of the clapper rails out of hiding, but no luck  
there, and I didn't see the short-eared owl that was reported earlier  
this month.  However, I did see some nice stuff.  Highlights were:

Peregrine Falcon, I'd guess a small dark first year male?  It was  
perched on a power line on the other side of the ponds being restored/ 
mitigated.  At one point it took off north, but it returned maybe 20  
minutes later and landed on the same spot.

American Pipit.  Only 1, but I got great looks.  It initially landed  
in the rocks along the bayside shore about 100yards south of the  
dilapidated pier, but eventually foraged in the gravel on the side of  
the bay trail quite close to me.

Lincoln's sparrows (2) near Marina Bay.

Green-winged Teal in the weeds, bay-side, near marina bay.

One big Coopers Hawk and one smaller Coop or Sharpie, inland side  
flying over the Richmond Field Station.

Say's Phoebe- 1, near the where I saw the peregrine.

Not a rarity, but funny- an almost collision between a low-teetering  
Turkey Vulture and a bicyclist, neither of whom were paying enough  
attention to their surroundings.

Other species:
Brown Pelican
DC Cormorant
Eared Grebe
Pied-billed Greebe
Ruddy Duck
Common Goldeneye (1 female)
2 large rafts of Scaup- to my eye both seemed to be mixed Lesser and  
Greater
Mallard
a handful of Am Wigeon
Canada Goose
Am Coot
Greater Yellowlegs almost to 580 in the marsh, accross from the dog park
Am. Avocet (5) in a pond across from Richmond Field Station
LB Curlew (2) with the Avocets
Am Crow
Western Gull
Great Blue Heron
Great and Snowy Egret
Mourning Dove
A gauntlet of bushtits in the tall fennel lining both sides of the path
Ca Towhee
House Finch
Savannah Sparrow (only 1!)
dozens if not hundreds of Golden-crowned and White Crowned sparrows.   
I looked hard for white-thoated, but did not see any.  The white- 
crowns are pretty neat there- probably several different dialects/ 
races/subspecies.
Cedar Waxwings (~25), chaperoned by 3 or 4 robins.
other usual suspects (brewers blackbird, starling, rock dove).


Good birding!

Alan
___________________________
Alan H. Krakauer, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Patricelli Lab

Section of Evolution and Ecology
University of California
One Shields Avenue
2320 Storer Hall
Davis, CA 95616
Office: 530-754-7837
Fax: 530-752-1449
ahkrakauer at ucdavis.edu
http://web.mac.com/ahkrakauer
___________________________