This story was updated to correct a bird species name.
The annual Christmas Bird Count in Richmond Saturday was shaping up to be a soggy affair. Heavy rains had prompted flood warnings, but the gloomy weather didn’t deter a record number of birders from trekking for miles to count as many species as possible.
Richmondside observed a count at Dotson Family Marsh, where about a dozen volunteers gathered at 8 a.m. sharp, cameras, binoculars and bird identification books in hand.
There, 30-year birder Clayton Anderson, youth program manager for Golden Gate Bird Alliance (GGBA), started with a short history lesson, his enthusiasm palpable as he shared how in the 1950s the park’s namesake, the Rev. Richard Dotson, was among the first settlers of nearby Parchester Village. The village was close enough for his son Whitney to hop the train tracks to fish, swim and search for frogs in the marsh. The Dotsons loved the open space so much that when developers eyed it in the 70s, piles of cash in hand, they led an effort to preserve it for future generations.
Bay Area bird counts have been happening for 100 years, but this is just the fifth year that Richmond has participated, as the GGBA seeks to expand its footprint here.
Anderson occasionally paused mid-sentence, whenever a fowl caught his well-trained eye, smoothly grabbing his binoculars from around his neck and peering toward the horizon. He revealed an uncanny ability to spot the tiniest winged avian critter — whether it be a speck in the sky, water or a bush — and promptly name it.
“That’s a kite,” Anderson said, pointing to a small black bird having a bit of a stand-off with a larger bird in the sky above a tall tree. “(It’s) having a little conversation with a crow. The kite can fly circles around him. He kinda laughs and says, ‘No big deal.’ ”
The group of about six birders in Anderson’s group chimed in, noting the kite’s multi-directional flying skills. The bird of prey can hover like a helicopter and switch directions vertically or horizontally with ease.
“It’s basically a cat with wings,” Anderson explained. “They eat mice continually.”
Hundreds take part in Christmas Bird Count in Bay Area
The Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is a census of birds performed annually in the winter, primarily in the Western Hemisphere, by volunteer birdwatchers, and is administered by the National Audubon Society. The census provides population data for scientists, especially conservation biologists, and is the longest-running citizen science survey in the world, according to the GGBA’s website, drawing hundreds of Bay Area birders over several days. The Oakland and San Francisco counts took place Dec. 14 and Dec. 29.
Richmond birders counted at multiple other locations, including Booker T. Anderson Park, “known as a particularly birdy urban park,” Parchester Village, Point Molate, and Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline park.
Golden Gate Bird Alliance
What: Founded in 1917, the Golden Gate Bird Alliance is dedicated to protecting Bay Area birds, other wildlife and their natural habitats. They aim to connect people of all ages and backgrounds with the natural world, and educate and engage Bay Area residents in environmental protection.
How to participate: The GGBA hosts more than 150 free bird walks annually, including many in Richmond, as well as classes and youth field trips. Visit their calendar for details.
How to help: The Berkeley-based group is volunteer-run, and there are many volunteer opportunities. Visit the website for more information.
The activity has become more than just a fun holiday outing. According to the National Audubon Society, the 2025 U.S. State of the Birds report, released last March at the 90th annual North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference, revealed there are “continued widespread declines in American bird populations across all mainland and marine habitats, with 229 species requiring “urgent conservation action.” A 2019 study documented the loss of three billion birds in North America over 50 years.
Dotson Family Marsh restoration seems to be attracting more bird species
The Dotson Family Marsh, 150 acres of shoreline off the Richmond Parkway at Goodrick Avenue, is doing what it can to reverse such trends, following a $14 million habitat restoration and public access project that was completed in 2017.
Anderson, who on Saturday had been out in the marsh since 5 a.m., seems pleased with how the restoration has improved the marsh, predicting that willows will grow there one day, along with a population of mid-height brushy plants. This is important, he said, because the mid-growth will help reduce the overpopulation of crows and provide shelter that will encourage songbirds to return.
As the rain took a break and half a rainbow appeared to the northwest over Point Pinole, Anderson provided some tips on what birds counters should look for: Bald Eagle, Mallard and Savannah Sparrow were a few of the names he reeled off, adding that burrowing owls had been seen the day before.
Joseph Taylor, a San Francisco resident who volunteers helping Anderson with ecological field trips for students in Richmond, Oakland and San Francisco, became excited for a minute, thinking he was going to be able to count a Purple Martin as bird No. 464 on his “life list,” a list that birders keep of all the different species they’ve seen. But not this day. While the birders were confident they saw a martin, they couldn’t get a close enough look through the field telescope to be sure.
Taylor said he’s fairly new to birding. The first bird he recorded on his life list was an osprey on the Willamette River in August 2020.
“After a while you don’t see a new one, so it’s kind of exciting (to spot something different),” he told Richmondside.
While some visitors might see a place like the Dotson marsh as just water and plants, Anderson points out it developed over hundreds of thousands of years to become a perfect breeding ground for “millions and millions” of invertebrates that the birds gobble up today.
A duck species that might fly 1,800 miles to winter in the Bay Area
Anderson was especially pleased to spot a male Canvasback, a bright white duck with a chestnut brown head, floating just offshore. The species is among the largest diving ducks in North America. The ducks winter in the balmy Bay Area, potentially flying here some 1,800 miles from what Anderson refers to as the “prairie potholes” of North Dakota or Minnesota.
“We don’t get a lot of them here. It’s one of the more elegant (ducks),” Anderson said. “We maybe see one or two every so often.”
Accuracy is important, of course, for the budding citizen scientists. The birders often consult their hobby’s definitive tome, “The Sibley Guide to Birds,” flipping through the pages to confirm what they’ve seen.
After about an hour of counting and learning at the water’s edge, the morning’s rainbow gave way to a chilly skin-soaking downpour. A couple of volunteers left, while others, Anderson included, huddled in their cars — determined to wait out the deluge to finish what they had started.
After all, as Anderson had said earlier that day, becoming a good birder is like learning to read.
“It’s about being out here and doing the work,” he said.
After the rain stopped, the group made it out to the spit that separates the marsh from Point Pinole, racking up a couple of rare sightings, Anderson said, including the Northern Rough-winged Swallow, a bird that can eat and sip water while it flying, and seven species of raptors — not an easy achievement.
“That’s not a normal thing to get,” Anderson said of the raptors, especially the harrier they saw. “It’s an indicator of a healthy marsh.”
Highlights from Richmond’s count
The Golden Gate Bird Alliance said a record 201 enthusiastic birders participated in the count, including a group of local Girl Scouts.
All told, the counters logged an above-average 178 species, count compiler Derek Heins told Richmondside via email.
Some highlights include:
- Seven new species: Long-tailed Duck and Red-necked Grebe at Point Molate; Violet-green Swallow north of San Pablo Reservoir; Northern Rough-winged Swallow at Dotson Marsh; Vega Gull at Landfill Loop; Tennessee Warbler and Summer Tanager at Booker T. Anderson Park; and a Vega Gull, the third ever recorded in Contra Costa County.
- A few notable sitings, including: A Ring-necked Pheasant, a Caspian Tern and Short-eared Owl at Mare Island; a Snowy Plover at Point Pinole; 67 Black Skimmers at Meeker Slough; a Black Rail at Landfill Loop; a Rock Wren at Point Molate; and a Pacific Loon at Richmond Marina.
“This year’s count day really demonstrated the resilience of our birding community,” Hein wrote. “We didn’t let the weather dampen our spirits as we supported this important international community science project. Golden Gate Bird Alliance initiated this count circle to bring attention to birds in Richmond and the local communities, and we hope to strengthen this bond in the years to come by encouraging communities in the count circle to celebrate our collective love for birds and the habitats we share.”
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