Today I went birding at Pt. Isabel for the King Tide, which was 7.2 Feet. I walked the Richmond Bay Trail from Rydin Rd. to a little past the Meeker Slough cutoff on and the Meeker Slough Trail. With the high tide I hope to see Ridgway’s Rail or Sora but didn’t see either. I may have heard a Ridgway’s Rail. Met several other birds along the way who pointed out a few birds I might have missed. I came up with 49 species. There was also a group of distant black birds that were probably either Red-wings or Starlings. Highlights were seeing 3 Wilson’s Snipe on Island opposite the trail junction to Meeker’s Slough and watching a gull chase an Osprey. It was a very good day for waterbirds, less so for shorebirds as the tide was still fairly high even when I left. There were very large numbers of Scaup, Ruddy Ducks and Western Sandpipers further out on the bay. There were also a good number of Western and Clark’s Grebes, Canada Goose, Green-winged Teal, American Avocet, Gulls and White-crowned Sparrows.
Click read more to see my eBird list for today
Pt. Isabel Regional Shoreline, Contra Costa, California, US
Jan 30, 2018 9:20 AM – 12:45 PM
Protocol: Traveling
4.0 mile(s)
Comments: Sunny, calm to light breeze, temp 50- 60’s F, King Tide of 7.2 feet. Walked from Rydin Rd. to a little past Meeker Slough cutoff on main trail and also Meeker Slough. Met several other birds along the way who pointed out a few birds. A group of distant black birds that were probably either Red-wings or Starlings. May have heard a Ridgway’s Rail.
48 species (+1 other taxa)
Canada Goose X
Northern Shoveler X
Gadwall 1
American Wigeon X
Mallard X
Northern Pintail 1
Green-winged Teal X
Lesser Scaup 1
Greater/Lesser Scaup X
Bufflehead X
Common Goldeneye 3
Ruddy Duck X
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Western Grebe X
Clark’s Grebe X
Double-crested Cormorant X
Great Egret 1
Snowy Egret X
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 2
Osprey 1
White-tailed Kite 2
American Coot X
American Avocet X
Black-bellied Plover X
Least Sandpiper X
Western Sandpiper X
Wilson’s Snipe 3
Willet X
Ring-billed Gull X
Western Gull X
California Gull 1
Anna’s Hummingbird 3
Say’s Phoebe 1
American Crow X
Common Raven 1
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 1
Bushtit X
Northern Mockingbird 1
American Pipit 1
Common Yellowthroat 1
White-crowned Sparrow X
Golden-crowned Sparrow X
Savannah Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 3
California Towhee 4
Western Meadowlark 1
House Finch X
Lesser Goldfinch X
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S42375306
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)
Natural History Wanderings 
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