Mark, Great photos, worthy of a gallery wall! I went out to the same spot this afternoon as the mud was getting exposed at 2:30, checking for the Ross's Gull. The wind was blowing up the shoreline at

EBMUD Valle Vista Staging Area on Pinehurst Road was also resplendent with termites this morning. I was there yesterday guiding some friends from Minnesota and we saw none-we left just as the skies we

A striking Slate-colored Junco appeared in the yard today. Last year a similar bird appeared on-and-off through the winter. Pat Bacchetti Oakland

I, too, had a flock of 40-50 Pine Siskins descend on my feeders today in the Oakland Hills near the Mountain View Cemetery. One to two birds have been around sporadically for a couple of weeks, but to

Jim, There are a couple of apps that you can install that listen for bat sounds and give you the most likely species. Wildlife Acoustics makes a rig That you can attach to your phone that is more accu

Alan, The Contra Costa Breeding Bird Atlas found small but consistent numbers of the locally breeding nuttalli (one of the yellow-billed subspecies, though only Sibley classifies them that way). They

While visiting at a safe distance with a neighbor, a White-tailed Kite circled high overhead. I live in the Oakland hills between Rockridge and Montclair, and I've never seen a kite in the area in the

The herring run is still active near Ballena Bay in Alameda, with thousands of Surf Scoters, Bufflehead, and cormorants feeding between Encinal Beach and Ballena Bay ( opposite Pier 29 Restaurant). In

Today at 1 PM, just after high tide, Judith Dunham and I saw an adult Common Tern on the breakwater along with 2 Least and 4 Elegant Terns. There were a few Black Turnstones and Black Oystercatchers,

HI Louis, Good places to look are Sibley Regional (go out on the trail to the left) and Valle Vista EBMUB Staging Area near Moraga (you will need to pay $5 online and get a permit to hike there). Ther

HI all, I work in El Sobrante, about 2.5 miles from the bay as the crow flies. Earlier this week, I heard a White-crowned Sparrow singing in the parking lot and thought that it was a late migrant. I w

Taking advantage of the beautiful weather Sunday, I birded Pinehurst Road from Oakland to the EBMUD Valle Vista Staging Area. Just before Canyon, a Western Tanger was singing in front of a residence.

As I pursue new places to look for birds for the 5 Mile Radius 2019 Challenge (http://www.iusedtohatebirds.com/p/vancouver-5mr.html), I popped into 2 places that are less than .5 mile from my house to

Logan, et al: From Google Maps access to the ferry is from the the end of Jersey Island Road. It's been my experience that Jersey Island from the intersection of E Cypress Road is private property abo

HI all, The EASTERN PHOEBE continued at Miller Knox Reg Park today. It was found by one of the many birders present just past the Marsh Hawk picnic area in the 3 small conifers near the lagoon's edge.

To add to the discussion, and in support of the list-serve, I had a small flock of Greater White-fronted Geese come over my house in the Oakland Hills on Sunday morning. Heard first, I went out in the

The Baird's Sandpiper continues at the W Contra Costa Wastewater Treatment Plant in Richmond. It was present at the high tide, where I saw it from 12-12:20 PM today-other birders had it earlier, as we

With every intention of only looking for San Francisco County birds, hundreds of birds on the newly-dredged mudflats in Alameda Co waters sucked me in today. The first stop was at the end of 7th St, n

After seeing 2 Eurasian vagrants in Marin Co in 2 days, I thought that my cup was running over in a drought year...but when I got back home and was eBirding the White Wagtail, I spied a bird in my bac