Arrowhead Marsh- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline
We went to Arrowhead Marsh which is next to the Oakland Airport. The sky was clear with very little cloud cover and the temperature was in the low 60's to mid 60's. The tide was high so most of the Spartina was submerged. This meant that we saw a lot of rails. I was in Jim and Coleen's group this week.
Cool Stuff:
TONS of rails. A dozen Clapper Rails, 3 Virginia Rails and about 10
sora. Amazing!The ring billed gulls will drop mussels and clams onto the walkway to
crack them open.
Stuff that we missed
- Normally there are Peregrine Falcons
A few years ago they saw a Loggerhead Shrike (a passerine bird that
impales it's prey on thorns or barbed wire)Burrowing owls are known to live here but they haven't been seen for
at least a year
Observations
Photos / Sounds
What
Sora (Porzana carolina)Observer
ap2ilDescription
Beautiful little bird. Bright yellow bill and a little black eyemask. A lot of them were just chilling on the reed mats and garbage.
Photos / Sounds
What
Short-billed Gull (Larus brachyrhynchus)Observer
ap2ilDescription
Possibly an immature Mew Gull in its second winter plumage
Photos / Sounds
What
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris)Observer
ap2ilDescription
Tons of these cute little guys trilling in the coyote bushes next to the water
Photos / Sounds
What
Greater Scaup (Aythya marila)Observer
ap2ilDescription
Several large groups of about 30-50 individuals were scattered through the pond/marsh area.
A bunch of grebes were often seen in the mix.
Photos / Sounds
What
California Ground Squirrel (Otospermophilus beecheyi)Observer
ap2il
Photos / Sounds
What
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)Observer
ap2ilDescription
Boldly colored bird. The males have an awesome black eyemask! and are bright yellow.
Photos / Sounds
What
Black-tailed Jackrabbit (Lepus californicus)Observer
ap2il
Photos / Sounds
What
Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla)Observer
ap2il
Photos / Sounds
What
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)Observer
ap2il
Photos / Sounds
What
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)Observer
ap2ilDescription
Didn't see many raptors today. This pair was circling a building off in the distance later in the day. Maybe it was cold so there were fewer thermals to ride.
Photos / Sounds
What
Ridgway's Rail (Rallus obsoletus)Observer
ap2ilDescription
TONS! of these guys were out. It was high tide so the water flushed them out of the Spartina and reeds. We saw about a dozen of them. They are roughly the size of chickens.
Photos / Sounds
What
Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)Observer
ap2ilDescription
Tons of these guys out in the grassy area near where the burrowing owls used to nest.
Photos / Sounds
What
Cinnamon Teal (Spatula cyanoptera)Observer
ap2ilDescription
Extremely Handsome Bird
We saw both male and females near the wooden pier
Photos / Sounds
What
Virginia Rail (Rallus limicola)Observer
ap2ilDescription
On our way back to the cars, we saw three of them just walking along trail in the reeds. We startled them when we walked over to see some ducks. They are about half the size of the Clappers
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