Despite the COVID pandemic leading to the cancellation of many local CBCs, there was good quantity and quality of bird reports throughout the region. Very dry conditions have characterized most of the fall and winter, but where the wetlands had water, bird numbers were good. Waterfowl highlights included a male Eurasian Green-winged Teal on 12/15 at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area (YBWA) and the returning hybrid Blue-winged Teal x Northern Shoveler at the Lost Slough Wetlands of Cosumnes River Preserve. A Greater Scaup along the American River Parkway (ARP) upstream of the Mayhew Drain from 12/25 into January was unusual for the region away from Delta. A Surf Scoter was reported off Sherman Island on 12/12, and Red-breasted Merganser reports included one off Beals Pt at Folsom Lake for most of the month, another off Tyler Island on 12/23, and multiples at the Amador County portion of Lake Camanche along with two Red-necked Grebes on 12/22.
The American Golden-Plover found at the Woodland WTP continued through at least 12/19, which is extremely late in the season for this species. A lingering Semipalmated Plover was at the YBWA on 12/5 and the Woodland WTP through 12/15. A little south of the area typically covered here, a Black-headed Gull (eBird checklist) found at the Stockton WTP from 12/5 into January deserves mentioning, along with a Franklin's Gull at the same site from 12/4-15. An adult Lesser Black-backed Gull was found near the Nimbus Hatchery from 12/1-2, and a second-cycle bird was found in the same area on 12/22-27. An adult Lesser Black-backed Gull was near the Yolo Landfill from 12/7-28. A striking first-cycle Glaucous Gull (eBird checklist) caused a stir downstream of the Nimbus Hatchery from 12/14 into January; a second-cycle bird was near the Yolo County Landfill on 12/27. A Pacific Loon was first found off Brown's Ravine at Folsom Lake on 12/5, and one to two continued off Folsom Point and/or Beals Point into the new year; one to two Pacific Loons were in Amador County waters of Lake Camanche on 12/22.
A calling Northern Pygmy-Owl was reported downstream of the Gristmill access to the ARP on 12/5. A Long-eared Owl was found at Mississippi Bar from 12/10-11, and up to four Short-eared Owls were seen at Sherman Island during the first half of the month. An American Dipper was reported along Sweetwater Creek just upstream of Folsom Lake on 12/4, and the returning dipper continued along Putah Creek near the Hwy 128 bridge downstream of Lake Berryessa. A Sage Thrasher was found on private land from 12/21-23 off Central Ave in Yolo County where it meets the Deep Water Ship Channel. A Townsend's Solitaire was a nice surprise on 12/20 at Sailor Bar. Evening Grosbeak reports included one in Davis on 12/1 and two over Elk Slough in Yolo County on 12/24. One to two Cassin's Finches (eBird checklist) were found and photographed in Davis from 12/3-7, and a Red Crossbill was reported over Rosemont on 12/14. A Black-throated Sparrow continued on private property near Lake Solano and a Lark Bunting (eBird checklist) was found and photographed at the YBWA on 12/30. Unlike recent winters, no unusual wintering warblers were reported this month.
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 listserve (cvbirds.org) and in eBird (ebird.org). It is impossible to list everyone, but I want to thank the following for their reports: Steve Abbott, Max Brodie, Aidan Brubaker, Jonathan Eisen, Elias Elias, Andy Engilis, Steve Hampton, Cliff Hawley, Jim Holmes, Brad Holtz, Scott Hoppe, Emmett Iverson, Jeri Langham, Andrew Lee, Mark Martucci, Lindsey Mitchell, Frances Oliver, Adam Panto, Michael Perrone, Zane Pickus, Ron Pozzi, Jim Rowoth, Steve Scott, Sean Smith, Gaven Stacey, Kirk Swenson, Cameron Tescher, John Trochet, Zeke VanZante, Ed Whisler, Lynette Williams, and David Yee. Thanks to everyone for their reports--without them, this column would not be possible.