[EBB Sightings] American Bitten at Coyote Hills highlight of Alameda Creek/east bay shoreline bike ride

Jim Chiropolos and I met Saturday morning at Lake Merritt where we quickly found the Tufted Duck with quite an extensive tuft. ?We took BART down to Union City and began our biking along Alameda Creek near Mission Blvd, proceeded down to Coyote Hills and then north back to Lake Merritt. The biggest surprise was an American Bittern at Coyote Hills in the reeds in the westernmost pond along Alameda Creek right before you can take the paved trail around towards the Visitor Center. The area where Jim spotted it was a few yards east of where Black-crowned Night Herons were roosting. ?Other highlights included a Wood Duck in Alameda Creek just east of Mission Blvd, Bullock?s Oriole and Acorn Woodpecker at the parking lot in the same location, two Ring-necked Pheasants and a Merlin at Coyote Hills and a Great Blue Heron swallowing a rat at Garretson Point. 

We did not find any of the notable birds recently seen at Coyote Hills (though we didn?t allow much time to search), Cackling or Snow Geese at Frank?s Dump (though the numbers of swallows there were impressive) or Barrow?s Goldeneyes at Lake Merritt.?? 

The complete list of the 104 species seen are below. 

Derek Heins 
Piedmont 


Double-crested Cormorant 
Red-throated Loon (just south of High Street Bridge) 
Clark's Grebe 
Western Grebe 
Horned Grebe 
Eared Grebe 
Pied Billed Grebe 
Common Coot 
Common Moorhen (Coyote Hills) 
Clapper Rail (Arrowhead Marsh) 
American Bittern ?(Coyote Hills) 
Great Blue Heron 
Black-crowned Night Heron 
Great Egret 
Snowy Egret 
Canada Goose 
Cinnamon Teal 
Green-winged Teal 
Mallard 
Wood Duck (Alameda Creek) 
Northern Shoveler 
Gadwall 
American Wigeon 
Northern Pintail 
Ring-necked Duck (Alameda Creek) 
Tufted Duck 
Lesser Scalp 
Greater Scalp 
Canvasback 
Bufflehead 
Common Goldeneye 
Surf Scoter 
Ruddy Duck 
Killdeer 
Black-bellied Plover 
Black-necked Stilt 
American Avocet 
Willet 
Marbled Godwit 
Long-billed Curlew 
Whimbrel 
Long-billed Dowitcher 
Greater Yellowlegs 
Dunlin 
Spotted Sandpiper 
Least Sandpiper 
Western Sandpiper 
Common Snipe (Coyote Hills) 
Glacous-winged Gull 
Western Gull 
Herring Gull (Alameda Creek) 
California Gull 
Ring-billed Gull 
Mew Gull 
Caspian Tern 
Forster?s Tern 
Turkey Vulture 
Kestrel 
Merlin (Coyote Hills) 
Black-Shouldered Kite 
Northern Harrier 
Red-tailed hawk 
Ring-necked Pheasant (Coyote Hills) 
Rock Dove 
Mourning Dove 
Barn Swallow 
Cliff swallow 
Tree Swallow 
Violet Green Swallow 
Anna?s Hummingbird 
Allen's Hummingbird (Coyote Hills visitors center)
Nuttall?s Woodpecker 
Northern Flicker 
Acorn Woodpecker (Alameda Creek) 
Raven 
American Crow 
Scrub Jay 
Black Phoebe 
Says Phoebe 
Cedar Waxwing 
Northern Mockingbird 
American Robin 
Hermit Thrush 
Bushtit 
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 
Bewick's Wren 
Marsh Wren 
Oak Titmouse 
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 
Hutton's Vireo (in nest) 
Yellow-rumped warbler 
Bullock's Oriole 
Western Meadowlark 
Brewers Blackbird 
Red-winged Blackbird 
Starling 
House Sparrow 
House Finch 
American Goldfinch 
California Towhee 
Spotted Towhee 
Song Sparrow 
Savannah Sparrow 
White-crowned Sparrow 
Golden-crowned Sparrow