Numenius americanus

My first full-fledged birding trip of the year (pun intended! oh!) yielded some great sightings today. Topping the list were the Long-Billed Curlews at Hayward Shoreline Regional Park along the edge of San Francisco Bay. Usually the Curlews are quite skittish, but they were feeling bold this afternoon. This one I watched for some time as it pulled clams out of the deep mud, rinsed them off in the water, and woofed them down its massive decurved bill. The plumage, not to mention the bill, on this species are absolutely stunning.