Richmond Shoreline - BirdForum Opus

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Meeker Slough at high tide, looking south to the Bay Bridge.

United States, California

Overview

While much of the shoreline of San Francisco Bay near Richmond, California, has been lost to industrial and residential development, a few scraps of habitat have been preserved for public use.

Birds

Notable Species

The usual array of wintering waterbirds includes Eared, Horned, Clark's and Western Grebes, Common Goldeneye, Surf Scoter, Greater Scaup, Canvasback, Bufflehead, Ruddy Duck, and American Wigeon. Long-tailed Duck is rare but regular in winter. Along rocky shoreline look for Black Turnstone, Spotted Sandpiper, Willet, Black Oystercatcher, and Pelagic Cormorant. Mudflats often hold American Avocet, Marbled Godwit, Whimbrel, Long-billed Curlew, Black-bellied Plover, and Least and Western Sandpipers. The normal gulls are Western, Glaucous-winged, California, Ring-billed, and Short-billed Gull. Typical passerines include Black Phoebe, Western Meadowlark, and White-crowned Sparrow.

Ridgway's Rail is present but very elusive at Meeker Slough. Visiting birders would be well advised to visit Arrowhead Marsh in Oakland to improve their ratio of rail observation to time spent staring vainly into the marsh.

Rarities

King Eider, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Yellow-billed Loon, and Harlequin Duck are among the rarer waterbirds. Passerine vagrants have included American Redstart, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Harris's Sparrow and Clay-colored Sparrow.

Check-list

Birds you can see here include:

"to do"

Other Wildlife

"to do"

Site Information

History and Use

The Richmond shoreline was developed as a major shipyard during the Second World War. The Rosie the Riveter National Historic Park preserves a number of the wartime features from more recent reconstruction.

Areas of Interest

The southernmost bay access in Contra Costa County is found at Point Isabel Regional Shoreline. From Interstate 580, take the Central Avenue exit west toward the bay. For the south parking lot, follow Central past the Costco until it ends at the shoreline access; for the north parking lot, turn right (north) on Rydin Road until you reach the channel. The southern parking lot is a convenient place to scope the bay for loons, grebes, and sea ducks, and provides pedestrian access south to the Albany Crescent for shorebirds. The north lot provides direct access to the Bay Trail north through the marsh. This is a good spot for Green-winged Teal and various shorebirds, notably Greater Yellowlegs.

For Meeker Slough, take Marina Bay Parkway south from 580 or from Cutting Boulevard. Turn left on Bayside Court, which ends in a small traffic circle with a handful of public parking spaces. Follow the blue signs marked for the bike path and "Public Shore" between the condominiums to reach the slough; turn right along the path to reach the Bay Trail and a variety of marshy habitats. Another immediate right leads to some brush along the edge of some muddy channels; this is a good spot for Lincoln's Sparrow and Wilson's Snipe. Alternatively, a left turn will take you across the bridge over Meeker Slough and through the marshes and mudflats beyond toward Point Isabel. Ridgway's Rail and Marsh Wren can both be found near the bridge, but may require a good deal of patience to get a look at. The mudflats beyond the bridge attract roosting gulls and Forster's Terns and large numbers of shorebirds, notably American Avocet and Long-billed Curlew. If the sandpipers and plovers seem nervous, there may be a Peregrine lurking nearby.

Continuing south on Marina Bay Parkway, you will reach Shimada Friendship Park and (at the very end of the road) Vincent Park. These two parks owned by the city of Richmond provide access to the bay and the inner harbor serving the Richmond marina. The latter is an excellent place for close looks at diving ducks (primarily Bufflehead, Greater Scaup, and Common Goldeneye) and all the Clark's vs. Western Grebe id challenge you can handle. Check the breakwater at the end of the point for the various rockpipers. The trees on the north side of the marina are a regular nesting site for Black-crowned Night-Herons.

Access northward is best accomplished by driving over the freeway to Cutting Boulevard and turning left. A second left turn at Marina Way will take you due south to Edwards Park at the old shipyards on the other side of Richmond harbor. The birds here are the same as at Vincent, but this can be a useful trick if that turnstone flock or Pelagic Cormorant has decided to move to the other side of the breakwater.

Continue on Cutting Boulevard, once again crossing 580, until you reach the four-way stop sign at Garrard Boulevard. Turn left here and continue through the tunnel to Ferry Point. Beyond the tunnel there are two lots serving Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline. The northern one is adjacent to a small lagoon that often contains sea ducks and shorebirds; the southern lot, at Ferry Point proper, is useful for scoping the large breakwater off the end of Brooks Island to the south. This is a regular location for Brown Pelican.

Returning northbound on Garrard Boulevard will take you to the northbound Richmond Parkway, which is also accessible directly from Cutting Boulevard. For access to the Richmond landfill, turn left at Parr Boulevard, continue left over the small bridge, and watch for the poorly-signed parking lot on your left immediately before the landfill entrance. Directions that involve this much dodging of garbage trucks mean one thing to the experienced birder: gulls, which have included Glaucous and Thayer's in addition to hundreds or thousands of the usual suspects. Other birds present here include Marsh Wren, Northern Harrier, and Black-necked Stilt. The wastewater treatment ponds around the junction of Parr and Richmond Parkway should be checked for shorebirds, including phalaropes.

Just before Richmond Parkway northbound ends at Interstate 80 is the last major bay access in the Richmond area, Point Pinole Regional Shoreline. Exit Richmond Parkway at Giant Highway and follow the brown regional park signs. Point Pinole's secluded location made it an important dynamite-processing plant in the early twentieth-century. Today it has been reclaimed by the East Bay Regional Park District, and is a quiet place to observe a variety of birds. The usual waterbirds present elsewhere along the shoreline are supplemented by a number of grassland species, including White-tailed Kite, Loggerhead Shrike, and Western Bluebird, as well as Allen's Hummingbird and Red-shouldered Hawk in the numerous exotic eucalyptus plantings.

Access and Facilities

See "Areas of Interest" above. The San Francisco Bay Trail provides pedestrian and bicycle access between Point Isabel and Edwards Park.

Contact Details

East Bay Regional Park District; City of Richmond Parks Department.

Richmond Shoreline - BirdForum Opus

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