April nearly has it all. There are many lingering winter birds and, by month's end, most of the regular migrant species are passing through, with some staying to nest. Numbers of groups as varied as ducks and sparrows are much lower than in peak winter season, but most species can still be found. Common Poorwills are detected in low numbers in migration on the flats of the Valley, and are of spotty breeding season occurrence in the chaparral ringing our area. One was found at Deer Creek Hills on 4/20, and another was well-seen and photographed (eBird Checklist S170626541) at Yolo County's Grasslands Regional Park from 4/26-4/27; many were reported singing along Rayhouse Rd in late April.
Just over a decade ago, Black-belled Plovers were expected in the many hundreds to over one thousand individuals. They have been especially hard to come by in Sacramento County in recent years, so a high of 129 on 4/17 at Cosumnes River Preserve (CRP) was a welcome report. About 300 Black-bellies were at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area (YBWA) when a Pacific Golden-Plover was found (eBird Checklist S169122710) on 4/17. An impressive 245 Semipalmated Plovers, perhaps a new local high-count, were found at CRP on 4/26. There were up to five Snowy Plovers at YBWA from 4/12-4/18 (eBird Checklist S169233584). Solitary Sandpipers were reported from several locations in the region, beginning on 4/10, and a Pacific Loon was found on 4/1 at Folsom Lake from Folsom Point. A Least Bittern was found at Colusa NWR along Abel Rd on 4/9, and another was reported at the YBWA on 4/21. Likely the same Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (eBird Checklist S168646971) returned from last year to the large egret and Black-crowned Night-Heron colony at North Natomas Regional Park. It was found on 4/1 and continued into May.
There were widespread reports of uncommon empids (Hammond's, Gray, and Dusky Flycatchers), but the numbers weren't off the charts like they were last year. Red-breasted Nuthatches appeared to be nesting in Davis, with nesting confirmed in May. At least two Black-chinned Sparrows were found (eBird Checklist S171037621) along Rayhouse Rd in chaparral habitat, beginning with two found on 4/29, and continuing into May; a Green-tailed Towhee was in the same area on 4/29. The Orchard Oriole found at the UC Davis Arboretum on 10/11 ended its stay on 4/10 after an impressively long run.
The Sacramento Area as covered here lies 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: Lyann Comrack, Lisa Couper, Lucas Corneliussen, Konshau Duman, Lynette Williams Duman, Gil Ewing, Frank Fabbro, Stephen Fettig, Joshua Greenfield, Cliff Hawley, Mackenzie Hollender, Marcel Holyoak, Manfred Kusch, Jeri Langham, Andrew Lee, Mark Martucci, Zane Pickus, Linda Pittman, Ron Pozzi, Samuel Schmidt, Steve Scott, Dan Tankersley, Kevin Thomas, John Trochet, and Tom Uslan. Thanks to everyone for their reports--without them, this column would not be possible.