This December was another month where there were too many highlights to fully detail them all. Christmas Bird Counts document our common birds as well as unusual finds, and both types of observation are important. Numbers of wintering geese in the Sacramento area continue to climb. This began with increasing numbers of Greater White-fronted Geese in the past 20 years or so, and now increasing, sometimes staggering, numbers of Snow Geese, along with good numbers of Aleutian Cackling Geese (the latter especially at the southern margin of our regularly covered area: Staten Island and Woodbridge Rd in San Joaquin County). Redheads are pretty rare in Sacramento County, so one spending the month and beyond along the American River Parkway (ARP) just downstream of the Sunrise Bridge was a treat. A Surf Scoter was found in the San Joaquin River off Sherman Island on 12/17 where they are semi-regular.
The only Mountain Plover reports in the region were along Hwy 45 in Yolo County, south of County Line Rd, throughout the month. Most reports were under 50 birds, but one was over 100 when something flushed the entire flock. It doesn't appear that any were detected in the former stronghold south of Dixon. It was a good fall for Ruff, and that continued into December with one found along Yolo County Rd 103 on 12/3 (eBird Checklist S124381182), continuing throughout the month. One of the most exciting finds, and a first for Sacramento County, was a Black-legged Kittiwake found from 12/5-12/7 (eBird Checklist S123565633) from Folsom Point at Folsom Lake where it was also seen flying well into El Dorado County waters. Uncommon loon reports were few, so a Pacific Loon seen from Folsom Point on 12/6 and 12/14 is notable. Least Bittern reports, never common, are much rarer in winter. Whether it's because most of them leave the area in winter or if they're just more secretive, it is difficult to say. One was recorded calling (eBird Checklist S124292891) at the Davis Wetlands on 12/19 and another was found at Cache Creek Wild Wings Park on 12/28.
A Long-eared Owl was found in the Wildhorse neighborhood of Davis during the latter half of the month (eBird Checklist S125152766) and continued into January. A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker found on 12/26 near the Elkhorn boat ramp by the Elkhorn Volunteer Fire Dept also continued into January. A Tropical Kingbird was a nice surprise on 12/16 along County Rd 104 on the Solano-Yolo County line south of Maxwell Ln. Typically any Winter Wren report is notable (the eastern species compared with Pacific Wren; the two were split in 2010), but there were three found this December, continuing from November. One was along the railroad tracks at the end of Payen Rd (eBird Checklist S123078085), just across the Sacramento County line into El Dorado. Another was at Lake Solano Park, continuing into January, and yet another was wintering nearby at the Putah Creek Fishing Access #2. Pacific Wrens are getting increasingly difficult to find wintering in the Valley in the past decade, so it's surprising that these Winter Wrens were found. Other notable reports include a Townsend's Solitaire at the Sacramento City Cemetery on 12/24 (eBird Checklist S124737797) through the end of the month, plus another at Sacramento City College on 12/26 continuing into January. A Cassin's Finch was reported at Sacramento Bar (ARP) on 12/15 and two Red Crossbills were reported at Lower Sunrise (ARP) on 12/20. After a fall with many Tennessee Warblers, one more was found at Cosumnes River Preserve on 12/4. The Palm Warbler along County Rd 104 on the Solano-Yolo County line south of Maxwell Ln continued from 11/26 through most of December (eBird Checklist S123476004). A Summer Tanager was a nice surprise along the bike path east of Slide Hill Park in Davis, beginning on 12/6 and continuing into January.
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: Dan Airola, Max Brodie, Aidan Brubaker, Brent Campos, Bruce Christensen, Lyann Comrack, Lily Douglas, Todd Easterla, Leo Edson, Andy Engilis, Gil Ewing, Frank Fabbro, Stephen Fettig, Joshua Greenfield, Cliff Hawley, Radha Krishna, Jeri Langham, Andrew Lee, Mark Martucci, Adam Panto, Nora Papian, Michael Perrone, Mark Sawyer, Steve Scott, Sean Smith, Cameron Tescher, Kevin Thomas, John Trochet, and Bart Wickel. Thanks to everyone for their reports--without them, this column would not be possible.