After the excellent rarities over the past two months, things were bound to return to normal. And mostly they did, though in terms of rarities, this was certainly a better than average November. More importantly, the Sacramento Area and the Central Valley are probably at their iconic best from November through March, with impressive numbers of waterfowl, cranes, raptors, and, of course, sparrows. After all, that is why the Central Valley Bird Club holds its annual symposium each November. Among the expected waterfowl species, two female-type Surf Scoters were found at the Woodland WTP on 11/11 (eBird Checklist S122263717). It seemed possible that a Rufous Hummingbird visiting a feeder in Wilton would spend the winter, but it appears that the last report was on 11/27. A Snowy Plover continued from October at the Woodland WTP through at least 11/12, and a Pectoral Sandpiper at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area was on the late side on 11/13-11/14 (eBird Checklist S122449127).
The only Long-eared Owl report was of a bird being harassed by crows in a West Sacramento yard on 11/7. Two Short-eared Owls were seen on 11/29 along Yolo County Rd 27 between Davis and Woodland. A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was a great find at San Marino Park in Davis on 11/10. A Hammond's Flycatcher was reported at the same location and nearby Willowbank Ditch on 11/7-11/9. Vermilion Flycatchers are always a treat in our area, but unfortunately a female photographed (eBird Checklist S122962471) on 11/24 at the Lost Slough Wetlands portion of Cosumnes River Preserve was not refound.
A few Cassin's Vireos were reported lingering into November, and an American Dipper was found at the traditional site along Putah Creek near the Hwy 128 bridge, just downstream of Lake Berryessa, on 11/24 through the end of the month. An Evening Grosbeak was a nice surprise at a Carmichael yard on 11/14. A Northern Waterthrush was an excellent find on 11/6 (eBird Checklist S121987445) just north of Desmond Rd along Franklin Blvd at the bridge over Lost Slough. San Marino Park/Willowbank Ditch in Davis produced another nice find, with an American Redstart from 11/8-20 (eBird Checklist S122259136), and a Palm Warbler was found south of Davis, on 11/26, along Yolo County Rd 104, south of Grasslands Regional Park.
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, Nicole Barden, Max Brodie, Aidan Brubaker, Brent Campos, Lyann Comrack, James Dunn, Frank Fabbro, Joshua Greenfield, David Hamilton, Denise Hamilton, Cliff Hawley, Jeri Langham, Dean LaTray, Andrew Lee, David Lumpkin, Mark Martucci, Nora Papian, Michael Perrone, Zane Pickus, Mark Sawyer, Samuel Schmidt, Steve Scott, Cameron Tescher, Kevin Thomas, John Trochet, and Bart Wickel. Thanks to everyone for their reports--without them, this column would not be possible.