[EBB Sightings] Hayward Shoreline Shorebirds

At high tide Tuesday afternoon at Frank's Dump, Hayward shoreline, there 
were thousands of shorebirds feeding and mainly roosting. Many are still 
in breeding plumage.

Most numerous were Black-bellied Plovers, Short-billed Dowitchers, 
Willets, Marbled Godwits and Western Sandpipers. There were also a lot 
of Avocets, a few Black-necked Stilts, Ruddy Turnstones, Long-billed 
Curlews, Sanderlings, and Least Sandpipers  . We also spotted a single 
Semipalmated Plover, Peregrine Falcon, and Wilson's Phalarope, plus a 
dozen other regular species.

At about an hour and a half after high tide, a few birds began flying to 
the north, then almost all the rest got up at once and flew off across 
the dike and water toward the Oakland airport. Quite a sight! It may 
have been the Peregrine that got them up, or it may have just been time 
to get back to eating as the tide ebbed.

Don Lewis
Lafayette, CA
donlewis at comcast.net