[EBB Sightings] Pipit...

All,

Cricket and I did a quick run through Coyote Hills Regional Park  
today. We were shocked to see so little water in the main pond, but  
very happy to find the drake EURASIAN WIGEON in the north pond with  
quite a few Americans. Lot's of Ducks there including Cinnamon, and  
Green-winged Teals, Gadwall, Northern PIntail and Northern Shoveler.  
Three American White Pelicans also showed up.

Earlier, starting at 8:00 am at the Winton Ave entrance to Hayward  
Shoreline, we scouted for an upcoming trip. Activity was low, at  
least on the trail leading out to the bay. As we walked up the slope  
to the bare earth area two or three HORNED LARKS flew over us and  
called. We also saw a dozen or so AMERICAN PIPITS foraging beside the  
weeds on the gravel slopes above the trai. All the individuals  we  
examined had smooth backs and dark legs... As they flushed up and  
away though, we heard what I felt might possibly be a Red-throated  
Pipit among them. It gave a very different, single wheezy and  
descending "seeerp...... seeerp..... seeerp", with short gaps between  
notes unlike any of the other American Pipits in the area. I wish I  
could say we saw the bird on the ground, but we did not. They flew  
off an out of view.

I'd be interested in hearing from people who have more experience  
with this species' flight call. The two Red-throated Pipits at Crissy  
Field and the various available recordings (most notably the calls  
recorded by Alvarro Jaramillo  http://www.xeno-canto.org/sounds/ 
uploaded/XQEVNREHJY/Red-throated-Pipit-calls-AJ.mp3 )  are my only  
references. I have to say, today's bird sounded suspiciously similar  
to the one in the above link. American Pipits give, at least to my  
ear, a rather even "seeeeee" flight call with neither a descending  
quality, nor a hard stop like today's bird. Of course that's when  
they're not giving the familiar "pip-it  pipit-it!" call.

At Frank's Dump we found a group of 4-5 RED KNOT sleeping among the  
hordes of Marbled Godwits, Willets and Dowtichers (mostly Short- 
billed from what we identified by call). The Dunlin were not sleeping  
at all, in fact they never stopped moving. A group of about 60  
Greater Scaup were gathered in deeper waters, not far from a perched  
Osprey.

.  .  .

Matthew Dodder
http://www.birdguy.net