July picks up a bit from June, but is still a hot--this year, a record hot!--time of year to explore the Valley floor. An early morning start is a must. Most breeding songbirds become less vociferous in their songs as the month progresses, but there's still a lot of activity. The first songbird migrants start to show up by the end of the month, and July is one of the best months of the year for shorebirds. If there is good habitat to be found, shorebirding can be excellent. The Woodland Wastewater Treatment Plant (WTP) continued to hold seasonally rare ducks, including a few Redheads and Canvasbacks, which are hard to find anywhere else in the region this time of year; in fact, Redheads can be hard to find at any time of year. A young male Costa's Hummingbird photographed (eBird Checklist S186706171) at a private yard in Wilton from 7/12-7/15 was an excellent find.
Shorebird highlights included a Snowy Plover at the Woodland Wastewater Treatment Plant (WTP) on 7/14, with two at the same location on 7/26. The only Solitary Sandpiper report of the month was from the vernal pool preserve just south of Heron Landing Park, Anatolia (Rancho Cordova), on 7/22. A Sanderling retaining breeding plumage (eBird Checklist S189340534) was found at the Woodland WTP on 7/26, and perhaps the same bird was found at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area (YBWA) on 7/28. A Semipalmated Sandpiper was nicely photographed (eBird Checklist S186266336) at the Davis Wetlands on 7/9. After a fair number of reports last month of up to three Least Terns at the Woodland WTP, there was only one bird reported for one day, 7/15, this month. Least Bitterns were reported from three Yolo County locations this month: YBWA, the Davis Wetlands, and Woodland Regional Park. A Little Blue Heron found at the Davis Wetlands on 7/9 was possibly the same bird found in Natomas last month.
Songbird migration began as a trickle, with a quite early Hermit Warbler at the SacSewer Bufferlands on 7/17. At least three Yellow Warblers continued to sing near the "Accidental Forest" at Cosumnes River Preserve. By the end of the month, good numbers of common migrants, such as Wilson's Warblers, were coming through the area. A Summer Tanager was a nice find on 7/28 at the Cache Creek Wild Wings Park. The fourth record of Indigo Bunting from the SacSewer Bufferlands was a very cooperative male that sang vigorously (eBird Checklist S186624063 and eBird Checklist S186985136) during most of its stay from 6/27 through at least 8/2.
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: Brent Campos, Lyann Comrack, Stephen Fettig, Joshua Greenfield, Jeri Langham, Andrew Lee, Mark Martucci, Zane Pickus, Linda Pittman, Steve Scott, Kevin Thomas, and John Trochet. Thanks to everyone for their reports--without them, this column would not be possible.