While I’m here in the Bay Area, I’m going to try to get around to different places to do some birdwatching. I went to Bayfront Park today, a park at the end of Marsh Road between 101 and the bay, near (what else ) a sanitation plant. The weather so far has not been too great, but was good enough to get some good birding in.

One of the first birds I saw was instantly recognizable as a Curlew, in this case a Long-billed Curlew.

Around that area, a marsh pond right near the park entrance, were a ton of birds, more than you could shake a stick at. There were a lot of Northern Shovelers:

Several Green-winged Teals:

And some American Coots:

There were many beautiful, elegant American Avocets:

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There were a great number of Black-necked Stilts, all over the place:

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There were also a few Canvasbacks:

Birds I am less sure about but think I identified correctly included a Willet:

And a Greater Yellowlegs:

Here are some birds I am less sure about, and will fill in later as I get IDs. What could be a dowitcher; it has a broad bill more reminiscent of an oystercatcher, and the bill and the bird’s size make it less likely a dowitcher, but….

This was some larger duck or even goose I could not nail down:

And there are so many of these little guys, I have problems telling them apart:

There was also a flock of Canada Geese that you could get fairly close to:

And around them, a good number of colorful Western Meadowlarks:

It also seems that the Black Phoebe I saw around my house the other day was no fluke. There were several that I saw in the park, and most of them had an interesting perch-fly-and-reperch action going on.

Another interesting passerine: the White-crowned Sparrow, of which many grouped in bushes near the paths.

Finally, I was walking back to my car when I heard a hummingbird very close-by in a patch of low trees. I ducked into the patch, and one Anna’s Hummingbird flew right up and perched just a few feet away, letting me get some lovely shots. Click on either for blow-ups.