Today we went birding along the Richmond Bay Trail from Pt. Isabel to and including Meeker Slough and back. We ran into another birder who said he saw a Hooded Merganser in Meeker Slough, which he had never seen before. We hadn’t either, but did find it. When I got home I discovered today was the first day anyone had recorded a sighting of a Hooded Merganser on eBird. Meeker Slough was especially good for waterbirds today with a Hooded Merganser, a Bufflehead, a Canvasback and numbers of Mallards, American Coots, Green-winged Teal, American Wigeons and Northern Shovelers.
We had a total of 38 different birds. We heard but did not see two Ridgway Rails. I also read a report that the Wilson Snipes were seen today on the backside of the Island between Meeker Slough and Shimada Park but didn’t get that far.
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Pt. Isabel Regional Shoreline, Contra Costa, California Nov 5, 2017
11:30 AM – 2:30 PM
Protocol: Traveling 3.0 mile(s)
Comments: 60 F , calm to breezy, sunny, high tide. Pt. Isabel to and including Meeker Slough and back. Submitted an additional report specific to only Meeker Slough.
35 species (+3 other taxa)
Canada Goose 40
Northern Shoveler 7
American Wigeon 8
Mallard 20
Green-winged Teal 20
Canvasback 1
Bufflehead 1
Clark’s Grebe 1
Western/Clark’s Grebe 80
Pelagic Cormorant 1
Double-crested Cormorant 10
Brown Pelican 3
Great Blue Heron 3
Snowy Egret 5
Black-crowned Night-Heron 2
Turkey Vulture 3
White-tailed Kite 1
Sharp-shinned/Cooper’s Hawk 1
Ridgway’s Rail 2 Heard only
American Coot X
Black-bellied Plover 1
Marbled Godwit X
Least Sandpiper X
Short-billed/Long-billed Dowitcher X
Greater Yellowlegs 2
Willet X
Ring-billed Gull X
Western Gull X
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) X
Anna’s Hummingbird 2
Black Phoebe 3
American Crow 6
Yellow-rumped Warbler 3
White-crowned Sparrow X
Golden-crowned Sparrow 2
California Towhee 1
Red-winged Blackbird X
House Sparrow 1
View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S40333087
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)
Meeker Slough, Contra Costa, California, Nov 5, 2017
1:30 PM – 2:30 PM
Protocol: Traveling 0.5 mile(s)
Comments: Sunny, 60 F, Calm to Breezy, High Tide
12 species
Canada Goose 40
Northern Shoveler 7
American Wigeon 8
Mallard 20
Green-winged Teal 20
Canvasback 1
Bufflehead 1
Hooded Merganser 1 Female
Great Blue Heron 1
American Coot 10
Anna’s Hummingbird 1
Black Phoebe 1
View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S40332804
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)
Natural History Wanderings 
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