[EBB Sightings] Hooded Mergansers in Pinole

I looked for Amy Richey's HOODED MERGANSERS along the Pinole Creek 
Trail on Tuesday and failed to find them.

Today (Fri, 2/27) I tried again and was rewarded with point blank 
views of 6 Hoodies (2 male, 4 female) floating serenely in the creek, 
just downstream of the overhead railroad bridge.  They did not seem 
at all concerned about walking people and dogs, although they were a 
little skittish when a train went over the bridge.

I also birded Pinole Bayfront Park.  The only bird of note there was 
a Mew Gull.  There used to be very reliable flock there, but a few 
years ago when the construction started at the water treatment plant, 
they became hard to find.

A woman I spoke to when I arrived also saw Black Oystercatchers at 
the creek mouth.  I missed them.

The parking lot for Bayfront Park is at the end of Tennent Av.  The 
creek trail is accessible from there by walking across the RR tracks 
and across Tennent Av.  The mergansers were about a quarter mile up 
the trail.  As Amy described, there is also a small public parking 
lot off Tennent that allows access to the Fernandez Park area just 
upstream of the RR bridge.

Good birding,
--
Laura Look
Pinole, CA