This May continued from last month to combine for a fairly slow spring, perhaps as a result of the persistent drought. No rare warblers were found through 5/31 and there were few reports of days with really good numbers of migrants. Unfortunately, several heron, egret, and cormorant rookeries in the region were abandoned part way through the breeding season. The cause at some sites may be complex, but at others, the early drying up of wetland foraging sites was the leading cause. There were a fair number of Black Swift reports in the latter half of the month, especially along the edge of the Coast Range to the west and in eastern Sacramento County. A few Calliope Hummingbirds lingered into early May, particularly around Mississippi Bar and Lake Natoma.
Among shorebird reports, most notable was a Snowy Plover (eBird checklist) at Cosumnes River Preserve from 5/2-4 and a Sanderling photographed (eBird checklist) at the Woodland WTP on 5/11. A pair of Least Terns was present at the Sacramento Regional WTP from 5/14-28, but they ultimately departed without attempting to nest. A combination of Northern Harriers, Swainson's Hawks, and Common Ravens that preyed on the chicks of American Avocets and Black-necked Stilts likely caused them to leave. A Neotropic Cormorant (eBird checklist) found at Ellis Lake in Marysville on 5/28, continuing into June, was a first for the area and the most northerly record in the state of this rapidly expanding species; ten years from now, this may well be a regular component of the local avifauna. Single Least Bittern reports came from Mather Lake on 5/22 and Wild Wings Park along Cache Creek on 5/2. A Glossy Ibis was photographed (eBird checklist) along Catlett Rd to the west of Lincoln on 5/28, a nice surprise among the White-faced Ibis.
Virtually no Burrowing Owls were reported this May, which may point to a near future where this species will no longer breed locally, but will only be a winter visitor and transient. Say's Phoebes (eBird checklist) are heading in the other direction, with new nesting records from many sites in the past few years, including the first nesting recorded at the Sacramento Regional WTP/Bufferlands this May. After a winter with very high numbers, a few Pine Siskins were reported through the end of the month and into early June. The only rare songbird reported this May was a Black-throated Sparrow photographed (eBird checklist) at Sailor Bar along the American River Parkway on 5/5. One highlight for the month was a fair number of Yellow-breasted Chat reports, both from scattered locations, and more expected sites like Sailor Bar.
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: Max Brodie, Aidan Brubaker, Lyann Comrack, Andy Engilis, Gil Ewing, Ed Harper, Larry Hickey, Jim Holmes, Scott Hoppe, Manfred Kusch, Jeri Langham, Andrew Lee, Mark Martucci, Asher Perla, Michael Perrone, Roger Muskat, Nora Papian, Jim Rowoth, Steve Scott, Sean Smith, Gaven Stacey, Cameron Tescher, John Trochet, Zeke VanZante, and Dan Williams. Thanks to everyone for their reports--without them, this column would not be possible.