Bill Kezer and I biked/birded Clifton Court in very calm winds, with our best sighting being a Lewis's Woodpecker flying south on the northeast side. This is the 248th species reported at this hotspot which is #1 in Contra Costa county. Clifton Court lost two of its biggest fans this year when Jerry Britten and Srikant Char both moved out of the county, but their frequent trips out there resulted in a lot of great sightings in recent years. Lewis's Woodpeckers have been tough to come by this year in Contra Costa, with a few at Vollmer Peak on Sept 23 and 15 at Bishop Ranch Open Space on October 5th.
As expected the forebay was full of American Coots (I put 5,000) and try as we did we couldn't find a swallow that wasn't a Tree among the 3,000 swallows we reported. Also of interest were a handful of Wilson's Snipe and a pair of Red-necked Phalaropes.
