November is officially fall, but it feels like winter in terms of birding. While most wintering species are accounted for, numbers of waterfowl are still building well into December, as are numbers of wintering raptors in our local, and shrinking, open areas. On 11/29, at the Sailor Bar access to the American River Parkway, a female-type White-winged Scoter was a nice find (eBird Checklist S204088015) that continued into December. On 11/16, a coincidental 16 Red-breasted Mergansers were photographed (eBird Checklist S202732270) on Folsom Lake from Folsom Pt. Greater Roadrunners are cherished sightings in our region. One was found along Yolo County Rd 8 in the Dunnigan Hills on 11/8 and again on 11/24. One was also reported along Sand Creek Rd in western Colusa County from 11/16-11/18. Sand Creek Rd is the most consistent location for roadrunners in our area. A female Costa's Hummingbird first found at a private yard in Wilton on 8/14 continued into December, an adult male was reported near Citrus Heights on 11/17, and an adult male was visiting feeders at Heritage Oak Winery in San Joaquin County, north of the Mokelumne River and west of Lockeford, on an 11/24 Central Valley Birding Symposium field trip.
Mountain Plovers returned to the two consistent wintering sites in our area: Solano County along Flannery Rd, south of Dixon, with the first report of 21 on 11/7, and to Yolo County along Hwy 45 just south of the Yolo/Colusa County line, with 15 first reported on 11/28, and more than double that number recorded in early December. Beginning on 11/16, a Pacific Loon was consistently reported on Folsom Lake from both Folsom Pt and Beals Pt. While Burrowing Owls have all but vanished as breeding birds in the Sacramento area in the past ten years--part of the evidence used to officially grant them candidate status as threatened or endangered under the California Endangered Species Act (a position advocated for by Sacramento Audubon Society and the Central Valley Bird Club, among many others)--there is a considerable influx of wintering birds. This fall, the Bufferlands has hosted at least a dozen Burrowing Owls, which harkens back to totals seen 20 years ago. We can only hope that some will stay to breed, which is possible but perhaps unlikely--the last successful breeding on the Bufferlands was in 2017. About six Long-eared Owls were found at a semi-regular winter roost site on a survey of a normally closed portion of Cosumnes River Preserve (CRP) on 11/30.
A juvenile Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was found (eBird Checklist S202508087) on 11/14 at the Hwy 128 bridge over Putah Creek to the west of Winters, and a Red-naped Sapsucker was found along Gates Canyon Rd, northwest of Vacaville, on 11/24, continuing into December. An Eastern Phoebe was found (eBird Checklist S204126087) on a survey of a regularly closed portion of CRP on 11/30. This appears to be the third record for CRP and the fifth for Sacramento County. A Plumbeous Vireo was seen by many (eBird Checklist S203516624) at the old Sacramento City Cemetery from 11/10-11/27. The American Dipper found at the traditional wintering location along Putah Creek, near the Hwy 128 bridge west of Winters, continued through the month. Far more surprising was an American Dipper found on 11/19 from the Virgin Sturgeon Restaurant (eBird Checklist S203042383) along the Sacramento River upstream of Downtown. It was seen and photographed by two birders, and not seen after mid-day on 11/19, although the friendly restaurant staff allowed excellent access. This is not quite the strangest location for a dipper in Sacramento County. In September 1990, one was found at the fountain in front of Wells Fargo along the Capitol Mall at 5th St. It is shaping up to be a good winter for Golden-crowned Kinglets, at least on the Valley floor in places like CRP. Varied Thrushes, by contrast, have been in very low numbers. On 11/24, a Red Crossbill was a nice find at the old Sacramento City Cemetery, and a Swamp Sparrow was found on 11/30 at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area in the same canal where one has been found in past years. The Summer Tanager returned for its fourth winter to William Land Park and was photographed on 11/1, though it hasn't been reported again so far this season.
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: Steve Abbott, Jennifer Albright, Dan Brown, Lyann Comrack, Ben DeDominic, Gil Ewing, Stephen Fettig, Maureen Geiger, Joshua Greenfield, Shawn Hayes, Emmett Iverson, Jeri Langham, Andrew Lee, Mark Martucci, Kurt Mize, Roger Muskat, Ed Pandolfino, Wendy Pearson, Zane Pickus, Linda Pittman, Ron Pozzi, Steve Scott, Kevin Thomas, John Trochet, Tom Uslan, and Amy Williamson. Thanks to everyone for their reports--without them, this column would not be possible.