[EBB Sightings] Re: Harris's Sparrow, Richmond Bay Trail

Today just before 2 pm I relocated the Harris's Sparrow reported by
Sheila. The bird was on the *south* side of the bridge at Point Isabel.
Look for the tree with the numerous red berries by the sign with the
regional trail rules; the bird was low in the scrub down the slope to the
right, on the edge of the marsh at high tide.

 Good birding,
 Jeff Hoppes
 El Cerrito

> Late yesterday afteroon, Sunday, Nov. 16, I was watching a flock of White
> Crowned Sparrows foraging in the vegetation on the East side of the Bay
> Trail a few yards north of the bridge that crosses the creek paralelling
> the Pt Isabel Dog Park, when I spotted an unusual sparrow which turned
> out
> to be a lst winter Harris's.  At first I thought it was a hybrid given
> its
> unusual markings, but when I got home and looked in Sibley, the
> fieldmarks
> were exactly as in the book, especially the wonderful uneven necklace of
> brown spots, the white belly, and head shape and color.
> The bridge is on the Bay Trail right at the dog park, accessed from the
> parking lot at the end of Rydin Road which is off Central Avenue, El
> Cerrito.
> Good birding,
> Sheila Dickie