Shorebirds save July from being a really slow month like June. They are about a month ahead of songbird migrants, and July has a track record of producing some of the most interesting shorebird records each year. Even though it happens every year, it's an amazing spectacle to see these birds coming through our area, with many of the species having bred in the Arctic. The first songbird migrants, such as Warbling Vireos, Wilson's Warblers, Black-throated Gray Warblers, and Western Tanagers were coming through by the end of the month. Back to shorebirds, the most notable finds included a Snowy Plover at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife on 7/22 (eBird checklist S115690333), and one at the Woodland WTP on 7/24. A Stilt Sandpiper was an excellent find at the Woodland WTP on 7/27-28 (eBird checklist S115915662). A Franklin's Gull in breeding plumage was a nice surprise on 7/19-20 (eBird checklist S115410598), also at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area.
Detections of secretive Least Bitterns are always a highlight. One was found along the Sutter Bypass west of Bobelaine in Sutter County on 7/1-5, and two were seen at the Davis Wetlands on 7/18. Twelve Burrowing Owls (ages unspecified) on a property without public access southeast of Dixon were reported on 7/7. This month there were only four sites with Burrowing Owls reported in the Sacramento Area, with two locations in Sacramento County and only one site in Yolo County. None of the Sacramento or Yolo sites appeared to have produced any young this year.
On 7/13, an adult Say's Phoebe was found feeding three full-grown juveniles at the Northstar Park in north Davis (eBird checklist S115268697). The species seems to be establishing itself as a local breeder, but there are still just a handful of nests in our area. Up to 200 Common Ravens were reported in early July staging or roosting on high transmission utility towers north of Keifer Blvd, between Sunrise Blvd and Grant Line Rd. These birds appear to be drawn to the area by the Keifer Landfill. As recently as ten years ago, this species was much harder to come by in our area. A Varied Thrush at the William B. Pond access to the American River Parkway on 7/22 by an experienced observer was more than two months earlier than expected. In terms of true songbird rarities, a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak was photographed at a feeder in El Dorado Hills; it was first seen on 7/2 and stayed for about four days. And finally, an Indigo Bunting was seen singing along the Sutter Bypass, west of Bobelaine, on 7/1.
Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Image by Jennifer Schmal
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: Max Brodie, Lyann Comrack, Konshau Duman, Chris Dunford, Gil Ewing, Robert Furrow, Josh Greenfield, Cliff Hawley, Marcel Holyoak, Emmett Iverson, Jeri Langham, Cathie LaZier, Andrew Lee, Eric Liskay, Mark Martucci, Michael Perrone, Zane Pickus, Jennifer Schmal, Steve Scott, Jim Thomas, John Trochet, Todd Wills, and Meirun Zhang. Thanks to everyone for their reports--without them, this column would not be possible.