Birds of the Alameda Shoreline
This guide includes over 50 bird species found along the beaches of Alameda. Look through the guide to see multiple photos of each species as well as range maps and information about habitats and feeding habits.
Sanderling
The Sanderling (Calidris alba, syn. Crocethia alba or Erolia alba) is a small wader. It is a circumpolar Arctic breeder, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to South America, South Europe, Africa, and Australia. It is highly gregarious in winter, sometimes forming large flocks on coastal mudflats or sandy beaches.
Dunlin
The Dunlin (Calidris alpina) is a small wader, sometimes separated with the other "stints" in Erolia. It is a circumpolar breeder in Arctic or subarctic regions.
Willet
The Willet (Tringa semipalmata), formerly in the monotypic genus Catoptrophorus as Catoptrophorus semipalmatus, is a large shorebird in the sandpiper family.
Long-billed Curlew
The Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus) is a large North American shorebird of the family Scolopacidae. This species was also called "sicklebird" and the "candlestick bird". The species is native to central and western North America. In the winter, the species migrates southwards, as well as towards the coastline.
Whimbrel
The Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across much of subarctic North America, Europe and Asia as far south as Scotland.
black turnstone
The Black Turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala) is a species of small wading bird. It is now classified in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae but was formerly sometimes placed in the plover family Charadriidae. It is native to the west coast of North America and breeds only in Alaska.
