September 2022 produced a remarkable number of rarities and the trend continued into October. The Woodland WTP hosted a Surf Scoter on 10/6-10/10 (eBird Checklist S120285606) as well as a showy Long-tailed Duck (eBird Checklist S120816484) on 10/16-10/20. Rufous Hummingbird reports typically taper off by October, but one visiting a feeder in Wilton continued all month and into mid-November. Interesting shorebird reports included a Snowy Plover on 10/12, continuing through the end of the month at the Woodland WTP, a Ruff along West Sherman Island Rd on 10/14, as well as a Ruff at Staten Island (eBird Checklist S121372862) on 10/18-10/26; this was a very good fall for Ruff reports.

Long-eared Owl distribution is poorly understood. While uncommon and apparently declining, they are also easy to miss, so one found on 10/21 on private property near Esparto is notable. Also in the Capay Valley area, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (eBird Checklist S121220335) was found on 10/10 on private property near Guinda. A Sage Thrasher was a nice find along Latrobe Rd in eastern Sacramento County on 10/1, as was a Townsend's Solitaire on 10/10 near the intersection of Levee Rd and Hopkins Rd, west of UC Davis. A Lapland Longspur was reported as a calling flyover at Folsom Point on 10/18, and at least one Chestnut-collared Longspur (eBird Checklist S120022442) was found along Michigan Bar Rd on 10/5-10/9. Michigan Bar also produced a Grasshopper Sparrow on 10/6-10/8, a Clay-colored Sparrow (eBird Checklist S120090102) on 10/6-10/7, and reports of single Brewer's Sparrows on 10/1-10/7 from different locations along the road. A Clay-colored Sparrow was also found on private property in Amador County near Buena Vista on 10/10, and a Swamp Sparrow was a nice find on 10/18 at the Elkhorn Slough boat ramp. A Bobolink, with only a few previous Sacramento County records, was seen on 10/7-10/8 (eBird Checklist S120138456) along Michigan Bar Rd just south of the Cosumnes River.

If not following last month's amazing number of rare warblers, this month's list would be even more impressive. A Black-and-white Warbler was a very nice find in the Tall Forest of Cosumnes River Preserve on 10/1. The impressive run of Tennessee Warblers continued with one at the UC Davis Arboretum on 10/15-10/17. An American Redstart was found at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area on 10/9. Chestnut-sided Warbler reports included one at the William B Pond access to the American River Parkway on 10/2, one on 10/13-10/15 (eBird Checklist S120715423) at UC Davis, along La Rue Rd by Hutchinson Field, and, finally, one in residential Elk Grove on 10/31, continuing to 11/1.

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, Brent Campos, Lyann Comrack, Todd Easterla, Frank Fabbro, Robert Furrow, K. Gatejen, Joshua Greenfield, Steve Hampton, Cliff Hawley, Marcel Holyoak, Scott Hoppe, Logan Kahle, Jeri Langham, Andrew Lee, Mark Martucci, Bruce Miller, Ethan Monk, Frances Oliver, Ed Pandolfino, Adam Panto, Nora Papian, Zane Pickus, Mark Sawyer, Elliot Schoenig, Steve Scott, Cameron Tescher, Kevin Thomas, John Trochet, Bart Wickel, Rick Williams, Violet Wu, Wentao Yang, and David Yee. Thanks to everyone for their reports--without them, this column would not be possible.