While still fully in the grips of summer weather, August is prime migration time for shorebirds and many songbirds. Based on scattered impressions, it appears songbird migration was a little slow. Shorebirds, on the other hand, produced some of the best records ever for the area. Snow Geese continued at multiple sites in the region, which, prior to this year, was very unusual. A White-winged Dove (eBird Checklist S147349713) was a surprise on 8/15 on the Solano County side of Putah Creek at Fishing Access #1 between Winters and Lake Berryessa. On 8/17, a Calliope Hummingbird was coming to a feeder in the Rosemont neighborhood east of Sacramento.
There were excellent shorebird reports this month, and shorebirds accounted for the majority of the area's notable finds. A Pacific Golden-Plover was at the Cosumnes River Preserve (CRP) Lost Slough Wetlands from 8/19-8/25. A juvenile Hudsonian Godwit was a first for Yolo County (eBird Checklist S147581855) and one of very few records for the Central Valley. It was found at the CR 104 ponds west of the Yolo Central Landfill from 8/18-8/19. A bright Red Knot (eBird Checklist S146345960) was an excellent find at the Woodland WTP on 8/3. Stilt Sandpiper reports came from the Lincoln WTP, 8/15-8/22, and the Robben Rd ponds south of Dixon on 8/23; both reports were of juvenile birds and the dates suggest it could be the same bird involved, but that's only speculation. An adult Red-necked Stint in fading breeding plumage (eBird Checklist S148580342) was an excellent find at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area on 8/29-30, providing just the second record for the Sacramento area. A Common Tern (eBird Checklist S147809430) was a nice find at the Woodland WTP on 8/21.
A Short-eared Owl flying in the early morning of 8/20 near the Yolo CR 104 ponds was a nice surprise this early in the season. There appeared to be an early influx of Red-breasted Nuthatches late in the month after a couple of years with few reports in the area. A Gray Catbird was a very nice find along Putah Creek, Solano County, near Mace Blvd on 8/31. A Northern Waterthrush on 8/15 was another nice find for Putah Creek Fishing Access #1, and a Northern Parula (eBird Checklist S148176318) was found along Putah Creek near the Pedrick Rd bridge on 8/26-8/27.
The Sacramento Area is roughly defined as lying between Hwy 20 to the north, Hwy 12 to the south, and the 1000-foot contour to the east and west, plus all of Sacramento and Yolo counties. Many reports first appeared on the Central Valley Bird Club listserv (groups.io/g/centralvalleybirds) and in eBird (ebird.org). It is impossible to list everyone, but we thank the following for their reports: Steve Abbott, Max Brodie, Aidan Brubaker, Lyann Comrack, Konshau Duman, Joshua Greenfield, Susan Harrison, Cliff Hawley, Jim Holmes, Scott Hoppe, Jeri Langham, Andrew Lee, Jasen Liu, Mark Martucci, Roger Muskat, Michael Perrone, Zane Pickus, Ron Pozzi, Steve Scott, Kirk Swenson, Kevin Thomas, John Trochet, and Bart Wickel. Thanks to everyone for their reports--without them, this column would not be possible.