[EBB Sightings] Lazy Contra Costa Big Day 12/27

Hi all,
Today Denise Wight and I did a kinda' big day in Contra Costa County. We started before dawn at Iron House Sanitary District in Oakley. Barn and Great Horned Owls were a nice start. The only real highlight was an approximate total of 250 Yellow-headed Blackbirds in 4 or 5 flocks shortly after sunrise. At about 6:45, as we were standing well out the trail near the outhouse, blackbird flocks started streaming by. The Yellow-headed Blackbirds flew by between 7 and 7:15. Numerous flocks of "Aleutian" Canada Geese also flew over.
On Holland Tract were the usual suspects, including Snow, Ross's, Greater White-fronted and Cackling Geese, Tundra Swans, Sandhill Cranes, Common Moorhens and Ferruginous Hawk.
Around Byron Hot Springs we had a Rough-legged Hawk.
The Lewis's Woodpecker continued at the intersection of Camino Diablo and Marsh Creek Rd. Another was at nearby Marsh Creek Res.
Scoping from the park at the end of Marina Bay Parkway produced a Common and 9 Red-throated Loons and a/the Red-necked Grebe well offshore near Brooks Island. A single Brown Pelican was patrolling the area and a Peregrine Falcon was perched near the island on a pole.
We finished up the day in Tilden Park where we found the usual suspects, including lots of Varied Thrushes.
If I counted correctly we had 145 species, including two new ones for Denise's Big Year effort.
Happy Holidays,
Steve Glover