[EBB Sightings] Owls, Raptors and Eurasian Wigeon at Coyote Hills RP

I birded the Coyote Hills Regional Park in Alameda Co. today (11/12).  I 
parked near the intersection of Paseo Padre Parkway and Patterson Ranch Road 
and walked a 7-mile loop that included the Tuibun trail, Chochenyo trail, 
D.U.S.T. trail, Alameda Creek trail, Bayview Trail and Nike trail.  I got to 
the park a bit before sunrise and first heard a GREAT HORNED OWL calling 
near the entry kiosk.  A foraging BARN OWL and SHORT-EARED OWL were seen 
over the field that is west of the entry kiosk.  The numbers and diversity 
of diurnal raptors at this park always amaze me - in addition to several 
each of RED-TAILED HAWK, NORTHERN HARRIER and WHITE-TAILED KITE, including a 
beautiful rufous morph red-tail that likes to hang out near the visitor 
center, I also saw a RED-SHOULDERED HAWK, MERLIN, PEREGRINE FALCON, and a 
juvenile/immature GOLDEN EAGLE in the hills west of the visitor center.  
Several raptor-like birds (a pair of TURKEY VULTURES and a LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE 
hunting along the Alameda Co. Flood Control Channel) were also noted.  At 
times, it seemed like every available snag and telephone pole had a raptor 
perched on it!

In addition to the raptors, this seems to be a great place for marshbirds 
and waterbirds.  Almost two hundred NORTHERN PINTAILS were at the North 
Marsh, the most I've ever seen in one place, and there was also a mixture of 
MALLARD, NORTHERN SHOVELER, GREEN-WINGED TEAL and RUDDY DUCKS.  I also found 
a male EURASIAN WIGEON on the North Marsh (scoped from the Alameda Creek 
trail) and it could be readily compared to it's AMERICAN WIGEON counterparts 
nearby.  A WILSON'S SNIPE was snoozing along the marsh edge.  Does anyone 
know if Clapper Rails are present in the marshes here?  I heard some distant 
calls that were reminiscent of these rails, but I wasn't sure....

Notable songbirds included a single LINCOLN'S SPARROW, and several FOX 
SPARROWS, of which one might have been the "slate-colored" subspecies.  A 
pair of TREE SWALLOWS (do these over-winter?) were flying above the main 
marsh, near where several swallow nest boxes have been put up along the 
D.U.S.T trail.  A complete list of species is below.

Photos of the wigeon, eagle, shrike and fox sparrows can be found at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/zonotrichia/

Ken Schneider, Redwood City

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Number of species:     68

Canada Goose - Branta canadensis     35
Gadwall - Anas strepera     13
Eurasian Wigeon - Anas penelope     1
American Wigeon - Anas americana     34
Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos     51
Northern Shoveler - Anas clypeata     42
Northern Pintail - Anas acuta     180
Green-winged Teal - Anas crecca     17
Canvasback - Aythya valisineria     3
Greater/Lesser Scaup - Aythya marila/affinis     15
Ruddy Duck - Oxyura jamaicensis     7
Pied-billed Grebe - Podilymbus podiceps     3
Clark's Grebe - Aechmophorus clarkii     1
American White Pelican - Pelecanus erythrorhynchos     4
Double-crested Cormorant - Phalacrocorax auritus     2
Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias     1
Great Egret - Ardea alba     5
Snowy Egret - Egretta thula     8
Black-crowned Night-Heron - Nycticorax nycticorax     1
Turkey Vulture - Cathartes aura     2
White-tailed Kite - Elanus leucurus     4
Northern Harrier - Circus cyaneus     2
Red-shouldered Hawk - Buteo lineatus     1
Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis     4
Golden Eagle - Aquila chrysaetos     1
Merlin - Falco columbarius     1
Peregrine Falcon - Falco peregrinus     1
American Coot - Fulica americana     18
Killdeer - Charadrius vociferus     5
American Avocet - Recurvirostra americana     1
Greater Yellowlegs - Tringa melanoleuca     3
Wilson's Snipe - Gallinago delicata     1
California Gull - Larus californicus     15
Glaucous-winged Gull - Larus glaucescens     1
Rock Pigeon - Columba livia     12
Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura     3
Barn Owl - Tyto alba     1
Great Horned Owl - Bubo virginianus     1
Short-eared Owl - Asio flammeus     1
Anna's Hummingbird - Calypte anna     1
Nuttall's Woodpecker - Picoides nuttallii     1
Northern Flicker - Colaptes auratus     1
Black Phoebe - Sayornis nigricans     5
Loggerhead Shrike - Lanius ludovicianus     1
Western Scrub-Jay - Aphelocoma californica     7
American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos     15
Tree Swallow - Tachycineta bicolor     2
Chestnut-backed Chickadee - Poecile rufescens     1
Bushtit - Psaltriparus minimus     29
Marsh Wren - Cistothorus palustris     6
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - Regulus calendula     4
Hermit Thrush - Catharus guttatus     2
Varied Thrush - Ixoreus naevius     1
European Starling - Sturnus vulgaris     1
American Pipit - Anthus rubescens     1
Yellow-rumped Warbler - Dendroica coronata     7
Common Yellowthroat - Geothlypis trichas     3
Savannah Sparrow - Passerculus sandwichensis     1
Fox Sparrow - Passerella iliaca     5
Song Sparrow - Melospiza melodia     17
Lincoln's Sparrow - Melospiza lincolnii     1
White-crowned Sparrow - Zonotrichia leucophrys     28
Golden-crowned Sparrow - Zonotrichia atricapilla     22
Dark-eyed Junco - Junco hyemalis     7
Red-winged Blackbird - Agelaius phoeniceus     3
Western Meadowlark - Sturnella neglecta     35
House Finch - Carpodacus mexicanus     25
American Goldfinch - Carduelis tristis     4

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)