Natural History Wanderings

Today was birding in the Eastshore State Park. The morning was along the Emeryville Shoreline area during high tide where hundreds to thousands of shorebirds roost and high numbers of scaup swim off shore. . The largest number of birds roosting were Dunlin, Western Sandpipers and Willets.  Two Willets got in a heated argument over territory(of about a few inches of space on a rock. There were also good numbers of Marbled Godwits and Whimbrels. We saw four species of Grebes, Pelagic Cormorant and a total of 27 or 28 different species of birds.

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After a lunch at the café at Berkeley Bowl, the afternoon we birded the Berkeley Section of the Eastshore Park between Gilman and University Avenue. It included the Bay Trail and Berkeley Meadow. We saw 47 different species. It was now low tide and I am guessing that some of the shorebirds we saw in the mudflats may have been among the birds roosting in Emeryville this morning. Highlights included watching a White-tailed Kite hovering (kiting), a Kingfisher hovering and fishing, two groups of Avocets circling and doing group feeding, and everyone’s favorite a Burrowing Owl. We also saw a Say’s Phoebe which a pleasant surprise.

Today: Bird lists:

• Emeryville Shoreline Bird List 11/15/13
• Eastshore State Park Berkeley 11/15/13