After a birdy September, interesting reports continued into October. The starkness of the multiyear drought was mitigated by unprecedented rains on 10/24, breaking records throughout the region, with over five inches on a single day in Sacramento and even more in nearby locations. Three Surf Scoters at Folsom Lake were quite early in the season for the area, where they are rare at any time except, perhaps, in the Delta. These were seen from Folsom Point on 10/14-15. A Red-breasted Merganser (female-type) was a nice find at the Woodland WTP on 10/31, continuing the next day. There have been very few reports of migrating Common Poorwills the past two falls; the only one this year was seen at Babel Slough on 10/18.

One of the most exciting recent finds was a Broad-winged Hawk (eBird Checklist) that spent the morning of 10/3 up and downstream of the Gristmill access to the American River Parkway. It was a first for Sacramento County and one of very few in the Valley. The only Short-eared Owl report so far this fall was from the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area on 10/30. Lewis's Woodpeckers continued in good numbers at sites on the flats of the Valley, such as Cosumnes River Preserve, in addition to having good showings at their usual wintering areas in oak woodlands and savanna on the edges of the Valley.

A Cassin's Kingbird was an excellent find south of the Rd 103 Pond on 10/1 (eBird Checklist). It or another was found later in the month, on 10/29 through early November, at the Davis Cemetery and Arboretum. There were a fair number of Hammond's Flycatchers reported this month from multiple locations. An American Dipper returned to its typical location near the Hwy 128 bridge over Putah Creek, west of Winters, on 10/7. The only Evening Grosbeak reported was a flyover from Orangevale on 10/28. A late Grasshopper Sparrow was a nice find, photographed along Meiss Rd on 10/16. A Northern Waterthrush was found along Putah Creek at the Hwy 128 dipper spot from 10/21-23. Magnolia Warbler reports are always a pleasant surprise, and one was found on private property in the small Capay Valley town of Guinda on 10/7 (eBird Checklist). A Chestnut-sided Warbler was found at Elkhorn Regional Park in Yolo County on 10/2-4, with another at Lake Solano Park on 10/6, where a male Black-throated Blue Warbler had been reported on 10/5.

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 I want to thank the following for their reports: Lisa Bach, Terry Berger, Max Brodie, Aidan Brubaker, Diane Colborn, Lyann Comrack, Lily Douglas, Konshau Duman, Gil Ewing, Cliff Hawley, Jim Holmes, Scott Hoppe, Emmett Iverson, Jeri Langham, Mark Martucci, Michael Perrone, Zane Pickus, Eric Pilotte, Jim Rowoth, Steve Scott, Cameron Tescher, Jim Thomas, John Trochet, Bart Wickel, and Lynette Williams. Thanks to everyone for their reports--without them, this column would not be possible.