After a few storms last month, February shaped up to be another largely dry period in this historically dry winter. Many of the highlights were of birds continuing from January, but more widely seen in February. Also continuing was the pattern of higher than usual winter finch numbers. A male Redhead, rare in Sacramento County, especially in publicly accessible spots, was first detected on Mather Lake on 2/20. It moved around between local water bodies, including Marilyn Evans Pond and the N Mather Dr Wetlands, continuing into March. A Surf Scoter was found on the San Joaquin River off Sherman Island on 2/21, where they show up fairly regularly, and the two White-winged Scoters continued near the Folsom Lake dam. A Red-breasted Merganser and one to two Pacific Loons were also reported continuing near the dam. The Red-necked Grebe (eBird Checklist) found at the Port of Sacramento continued from last month through 2/12, while another was on Lake Solano from 2/1-2.
Allen's Hummingbirds are very rarely found in Sacramento County, but are somewhat consistent in the extreme southwestern portion of the county. A male photographed at Brannan Island SRA on 2/26 (eBird Checklist) fit that pattern. The cooperative male Broad-billed Hummingbird, found on 1/29 in a private yard in central Davis, continued into March. A Pacific Golden-Plover was reported at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area on 2/16-20, and up to two Lesser Black-backed Gulls were found in the vicinity of the Yolo County Landfill Pond, north of Rd 28H, through most of the month; a first cycle Glaucous Gull was reported from the same location on 2/16. A Least Bittern reported on 2/13 from Cache Creek at Wild Wings County Park was intriguing for a species rarely found locally in winter. Bald Eagles began nesting for the second year in a row on the lower Cosumnes River Preserve, continuing the trend of local expansion. A flock of 8-10 Long-eared Owls at a traditional roost site was found on 2/28 at a typically closed section of Cosumnes River Preserve. They had not been present there earlier this season (dependably unpredictable, this enigmatic species), though this makes three years in a row that they spent at least part of the winter near the same spot; a roost of four was also present on 2/14 on private property near Esparto.
A cooperative Red-naped Sapsucker found on 2/7 at Rollingwood Bluffs (eBird Checklist) on the west side of Lake Natoma continued into March and was enjoyed by many. The Eastern Phoebe, first found on 1/24 along Cache Creek near Wild Wings County Park, continued to mid-month. The Tropical Kingbird found at Reichmuth Park on 1/31 was enjoyed by many as it continued (eBird Checklist), increasingly sporadically, through the end of the month. A Sage Thrasher was photographed near the Bridgeway Island Pond on 2/6. A small flock of Red Crossbills was enjoyed by several observers from 2/6-12 (eBird Checklist) at the Old City Cemetery, and a flock of 12 was found at Elk Grove Regional Park on 2/14 (eBird Checklist). On 2/22, a Harris's Sparrow (eBird Checklist) was with a crowned-sparrow flock adjacent to the Putah Creek Riparian Reserve, continuing into March near the junction of Levee and Hopkins Rds, where it was enjoyed by many.
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 I want to thank the following for their reports: Kathy Blankenship, Max Brodie, Aidan Brubaker, Holly Coates, Konshau Duman, Chris Dunford, Andy Engilis, Stephen Fettig, Steve Hampton, John Harris, Cliff Hawley, Scott Hoppe, Rich Howard, Emmett Iverson, Jeri Langham, Andrew Lee, Mark Martucci, Chris McAllister, Michael Perrone, Dan Murphy, Nora Papian, Katie Rian, Jim Rowoth, Steve Scott, Gaven Stacey, Kirk Swenson, Eddie Tache, Simon Tache, John Trochet, Bobby Walsh, Rick Williams, and Lynette Williams. Thanks to everyone for their reports--without them, this column would not be possible.