[EBB Sightings] Common Murre in Richmond Marina

This morning (Sun, Aug 10), we saw a juvenile COMMON MURRE in the 
open water in the middle of Richmond Marina.

The bird was first seen from the Bay Trail just south of the Rosie 
the Riveter Memorial, and was identified as a black-and-white fuzzy 
blob.  I decided it was closer to the other side of the harbor, so we 
drove around and parked at Edwards Park and walked a little north 
along the Bay Trail.  Apparently the distance was an optical 
illusion, as the bird was still just as far away as from the other 
side.  We got lucky though, as it began to slowly paddle in our 
direction.  After about 15 minutes of paddling, it was clearly a 
murre, and after about 30 minutes, it was clearly a juvenile.  Its 
posture looked odd, with the head hunkered down near the water and 
the wings fluffed up, giving it an odd large-rumped, low-head profile.

We also later checked Cesar Chevez Park in Berkeley, but saw no 
murres there.  A large Gopher Snake was a consolation prize, with a 
large lump in the middle (ground squirrel, anyone?).

Good birding,
--
Laura Look
Pinole, CA