Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline Park, Oakland, CA

I had a moment to before sunset to do some birding at the seasonal pond near Damon Slough tonight. It was very cool to see the breeding plumages of so many birds. First time for me to see a Black-bellied Plover with a black belly!

The cast of characters this evening included:

1. Black-bellied Plover
2. American Avocet
3. Black-necked Stilt
   
4. Long-billed Dowitcher
   
5. Greater Yellowlegs
6. Killdeer
7. Willet
   
8. Cinnamon Teal
9. Blue-Winged Teal
   
10. American Widgeon
11. Gadwall
    
12. Mallard
13. Greater Scaup
    
14. Western Grebe
15. Great Blue Heron
    
16. Canada Goose
17. American Coot

Sunday at Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline Park in Oakland

Today, Golden Gate Audubon volunteers joined East Bay Regional Park District staff at Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline Park in Oakland to do some weeding on a rocky island within the restored wetlands that is used by American avocets and black-necked stilts for nesting. Avocets and stilts will start breeding soon. We are starting to see more of the avocets molting into their beautiful breeding plumage. It was a great opportunity to help the birds in a tangible way just before their breeding season and to get inside the area normally closed to the public. Braving the cold and rain, we pulled out a heeping truckload of weeds and hopefully made the island more inviting to nesting birds by making a dent in the tall stinkwort.

Through the rain, we got an up-close look at several species of birds, including:

• Two Northern pintail duck drakes (males) - whose population has declined by 77 percent in 40 years
  
• Marbled Godwits - on the Audubon Watchlist
  
• American avocets
• Black-necked stilts
• Greater scaups - another common bird in decline whose population has decreased 75 percent in 40 years
  
• Northern shovelers
• American widgeons
• Buffleheads
  
• American coots
  
• Western gulls
• Ring-billed gulls
  
• Turkey vulture
• Ravens
  

Lake Merritt, Oakland, CA

This evening I finally had the first opportunity of the new year to visit my local birding spot and the epicenter of my birding universe - Lake Merritt.

Lake Merritt is one of Oakland's many gems. In 1870, the lake's value as wildlife habitat was so acknowledged that it was designated the first wildlife refuge in the United States. It is an amazing wintering ground for birds and I always stop and look even if I'm without my binoculars or bird book. I especially like watching the channel as the tide goes out.

My main goal for the evening was to spot the Tufted Duck that has been wintering on the lake. Tufted Ducks are diving ducks that are smaller than the Greater Scaups that dominate the lake, but because of similar black and white coloring almost blend in if you're not looking. Luckily, as I was watching the Pied-bill grebes and Clarke's Grebes amongst the scaups near the bird islands, I caught the tuft of the Tufted Duck poking out as its head was tucked under its wing in the cooling evening. Tufted Ducks have been regular visitors in small numbers to Lake Merritt over the years, but it's still fascinating to think this bird made it over from somewhere in Eurasia to our humble lake. I think it would be fascinating to do a satellite track of where it flies back to in the spring.

The other interesting thing I saw was a smaller raptor in the trees of the bird island that normally hosts a lot of Double-crested Cormorants. I couldn't ID the bird because it was getting too dark, but I'll be back to see what it was.

What all did I see in my short evening bird walk?

1. tufted duck
2. greater scaup
3. ruddy duck
4. canvasback duck
5. pied-bill grebe
6. western grebe
7. Clarke's grebe
8. mallard duck
9. coot
10. Canada geese
11. bufflehead
12. great blue heron
13. black-crowned night heron

I'm sure that I missed some others, but not bad for just an hour.