Date: 10/12/26 9:27 am From: Karen via groups.io <karush111...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Field Notes: Moss Landing Beach and Jetty Road
Our rescheduled trip to Moss Landing Beach, Jetty Road was a great trip for the October Big Day. It was a pretty impressive trip from our sheer numbers and the number of birds (We had 60!) we were able to see with the help of Matthew Dodder and his scopes. Thank you Matthew and Cricket, and Linda. Unfortunately there were also quite a few dead sea lions and common murres on the beach, possibly larger numbers than expected from the effects of El Nino. We introduced ourselves at the parking lot while having some close looks at Common Murres, Common Loons, Elegant Terns, Eared Grebes and lots of Brown Pelicans on the rocky breaks. The slough and harbor were active with sea lions.
We proceeded to the beach where we could see Marbled Godwits in groups all down the beach with a few Willets, Long Billed Curlews and Sanderlings mixed in. We watched the waves and the skies for more birds. We had more Common Loons, Elegant Terns, Common Murres and a Parasitic Jaeger flying in the distance. As we headed north on the beach we almost stumbled on some Sanderlings, Semipalmated Plovers and Snowy Plovers. We had seen the Black-Bellied Plovers just minutes before so it gave a great demonstration of the size differences seen in Plovers. This would not be our last encounter and the total number of Snowy Plovers was higher than I normally encounter at 32! (Hoping all the conservation work is paying off.) We had a large group of gulls, primarily Heermann's Gulls with a few Western Gulls, and one Ring-billed Gull. Matthew also spotted an American Herring Gull which disappeared quickly. We headed back over to the Jetty Road and made our way over to the wetlands. Along the way we saw a Say's Phoebe (First of Season for me), White-Crowned Sparrows, Lincoln Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow and a couple of Bewick Wrens singing. Near the water were Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Least Sandpipers and Black-necked Stilts. By the time we got up to the wetland area the tide was pretty high and the Willets and Marbled Godwits were pushed into the pickleweed.
The raptors saved themselves for near the end with a pair of posing White-tailed Kites on snags, Turkey Vultures, and a Northern Harrier. We headed back to the beach to have a second look at many of the birds. We saw the beach covered with what looked to be very small piles of seaweed everywhere we looked. They turned out to be hundreds of resting Least Sandpipers, Western Sandpipers and a few larger Dunlins mixed in.
During the trip we also had Brewer's Blackbirds, American Crows, Snowy Egrets, Western Grebes, Pied-billed Grebes, Brandt's and Double-crested Cormorants with a "no show" for Pelagic Cormorants. There were a few birds only seen by a few such as Pigeon Guillemot, Clark's Grebe. We also saw California Sea Lions, Humpback Whales, dolphins/porpoises (I couldn't ID), and California Sea Otters.
I'd like to thank everyone for participating and helping their fellow birder and especially Matthew.
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
