[EBB Sightings] Surf Scoters near Martinez (plus Long-tailed Duck, Barrow's Goldeneyes)

On Nov 23, 2007, at 4:41 PM, Denise Wight wrote:

> I just wanted to pass on that I counted over 1,300
> Surf Scoters off Martinez Shoreline Regional Park
> yesterday morning at high tide.  This is a personal
> Martinez high count for Surf Scoters for me, having
> started birding out there in 1986.

I, too, have been impressed with the numbers of Surf Scoters this  
year, which seems dramatically higher than I have observed in eight  
years of riding the train through the area. The higher densities  
continue, with quite a bit of variability, to around the Carquinez  
Bridge, after which they drop off to more normal numbers.

> I looked for
> Long-tailed Duck (seen here in the past) and
> White-winged Scoter, but didn't see any.

While I have yet to see a White-winged Scoter from the train, I saw  
my first Long-tailed Duck of the season this morning in a dense mixed  
flock of scaup and scoters about a half-mile to a mile west of the  
regional park area. This area is west of the small train-yard  
buildings at Ozol, past the pipeline pier, nearly to the next set of  
dilapidated docks at the end of that stretch of shoreline. I don't  
know much about the access issues to that part of the shoreline, but  
there are frequently people fishing there, so it must be possible.

> In addition
> to a 1000+ scaup, there were a few Canvasbacks, Common
> Goldeneyes, and Ruddy Ducks. I didn't see Tufted Duck
> or Barrow's Goldeneye (which have also been here in
> the past). Continued scoping of these rafts of ducks
> might turn up something interesting.

The Barrow's Goldeneyes have been in for a couple of weeks now, but  
they've been hanging out further west than usual. Most years I see  
them first around the aforementioned pipeline pier, but this year  
they've been spending most of their time in the vicinity of the  
aforementioned dilapidated dock. In previous years I've gotten up to  
a count of 125-135, but so far this year I haven't seen more than  
35-50. (Work obligations have kept me from attempting a complete  
count on all but a few days, however.)

Good birding,
Kirk Swenson
Davis <--> Emeryville