March is a time of transitions. Migration starts slowly, with waterfowl numbers beginning to decrease and early migrants, like swallows, showing up in force. It's not until at least the second week of April that most of the much-anticipated spring migrants appear, but late March produces the first records of species like Swainson's Hawks, Pacific-slope Flycatchers, Western Kingbirds, Warbling Vireos, Bullock's Orioles, Wilson's Warblers, and Black-headed Grosbeaks. Many of our wintering birds will remain through April, but most of the Sandhill Cranes and wintering raptors leave before month's end. There was an uptick of Band-tailed Pigeon reports toward the end of the month, with a cresting wave appearing in April.
A Long-eared Owl was found roosting on the Sacramento Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant Bufferlands in a planted live oak on 3/30, accounting for just the third record for the property. This species has been designated as sensitive by eBird, so it will no longer show up on publicly viewable eBird maps or produce eBird rarity alerts. This is an understandable step to protect a species that can be swarmed by dozens of birders and photographers on its roost every day, but it is also unfortunate the specific historical information is no longer readily available, not to mention the palpable joy these birds can give (responsible) observers. There were several Short-eared Owl reports from the first week of the month. They came from Yolo County Rd 104 to the west and northwest of the Yolo County (Davis) Landfill, with others along Sankey Rd (eBird Checklist S130054981), Sutter County, between Hwy 99 and the Sacramento River. A Northern Saw-whet Owl was found roosting in a planted redwood in Natomas on 3/31 (eBird Checklist S132333231).
A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was found by those looking for the Summer Tanager (see below) in William Land Park on 3/17; it continued through the end of the month. The Hammond's Flycatcher found last month at Streng Park in Woodland continued, and another was found for much of the month along Babel Slough Rd (eBird Checklist S131892034). The first report for the season of locally declining Purple Martins was near the traditional colony at Sutterville Rd near Sacramento City College on 3/18. The Townsend's Solitaire at Sacramento City College (eBird Checklist S131701342) continued through the end of the month. Evening Grosbeaks in the Gold River neighborhood south of the American River between Sunrise and Hazel Blvds continued from February. There were reports of 20-30 birds, though numbers tapered off by mid-month, and there were scattered reports elsewhere in the region. A Cassin's Finch was a nice surprise in Orangevale on 3/13, and a Clay-colored Sparrow found in February northeast of Lodi along Buck Rd, south of Acampo Rd, continued through at least 3/8. A bright Red Fox Sparrow was at a closed portion of Cosumnes River Preserve (CRP) on 3/25, and the Swamp Sparrow at North (Partansky) Pond in Davis continued on 3/2. The Nashville Warbler at CRP, first detected on 1/19, continued through at least 3/12. A stunning male Summer Tanager (eBird Checklist S130761541) was seen consistently near Fairytale Town in Land Park near the Sacramento Zoo beginning on 3/11, continuing into April. It had been seen sporadically on the zoo property earlier in the winter and is almost certainly the same bird that appeared as an immature last winter.
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, Lyann Comrack, Todd Easterla, Leo Edson, Gil Ewing, Marc Fenner, Maureen Geiger, Joshua Greenfield, Cliff Hawley, Leia Hewitt, Mackenzie Hollender, Manfred Kusch, Jeri Langham, Andrew Lee, Mark Martucci, Daniel Murphy, Frances Oliver, Nora Papian, Michael Perrone, Mark Sawyer, Steve Scott, Alex Single, and John Trochet. Thanks to everyone for their reports--without them, this column would not be possible.