September has so many possibilities. Shorebirds, waterbirds, raptors, and all manner of songbirds are on the move during the transition from late summer to fall. This month produced a few regional firsts and there are almost too many great birds to mention! A Red-breasted Merganser on Folsom Lake that was seen from Beals Point for much of August continued through mid-September. A Common Poorwill was flushed from the trail at Bobelaine on 9/23; this species seems to be turning up less often in migration. A female Costa's Hummingbird found at a private yard in Wilton on 8/14 impressively continued through September and into October.
Vying for bird of the year, a Wood Sandpiper was found (eBird Checklist S194649921) at the Woodland WTP on 9/9 through 9/10. It briefly went missing on 9/9 and was found at a small pond nearby, but returned to the WTP on 9/10. This is just the fifth record for the state and the first for the Central Valley. Six Snowy Plovers were found together at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area on 9/1. A Ruff was photographed (eBird Checklist S193994152) among dowitchers in a field off Hwy 45 and Yolo County Rd 109A on 9/4. There were several reports of Baird's and Pectoral sandpipers from multiple locations, and single Semipalmated Sandpiper reports came from the Woodland WTP on 9/3 and 9/9. On 9/21, an immature Sabine’s Gull was found at the Woodland WTP, with perhaps the same bird continuing on 9/26, and two birds were present from 9/29 to 10/1. A Sabine's Gull was also found at Folsom Lake from Beals Pt on 9/26, and yet another great bird, a Franklin's Gull, was found (eBird Checklist S194887708) at the Woodland WTP on 9/12 through 9/30.
A Broad-winged Hawk photographed (eBird Checklist S196019306) flying over Reichmuth Park on 9/21 was a big surprise and only the second Sacramento County record. A Pygmy Nuthatch seen at a Citrus Heights yard on 9/7 was quite a surprise away from the coastal or mountain conifer zones, and accounted for one of very few Central Valley records. A Black-throated Sparrow was seen by many from 9/7-9/12 at a private yard southwest of Clarksburg. Green-tailed Towhee reports came from the American River Parkway (ARP) between Howe and Watt avenues on 9/10, a private yard in the Pocket Area of Sacramento on 9/18, and yet another from a private yard in Wilton on 9/28. Rare warblers were well represented this month, with a Northern Waterthrush along Putah Creek, downstream of the Pedrick Rd bridge, on 9/15 through 9/18, and a Tennessee Warbler at the same location from 9/15 through 9/23. Another Tennessee Warbler was found at Reichmuth Park from 9/27 into October. A Black-and-white Warbler was seen at the Ione WTP on 9/20 through 9/21. A Virginia's Warbler was found on 9/17 (eBird Checklist S195522462) and continued through 9/18. It is the first El Dorado County record and was found while following up on the first El Dorado County record of a Magnolia Warbler that was seen (e Bird Checklist S195569107) from 9/16 through 9/18--both were seen from the old RR track trail along Deer Creek off of Latrobe Rd. American Redstarts reported on 9/8 and 9/18 from Lake Solano were different individuals based on plumage. The Northern Parula found at the Gristmill access to ARP on 8/29 continued through 9/7, and a Chestnut-sided Warbler was found at the Putah Creek Fishing Access #1, west of Winters, from 9/18 through 9/20.
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, Dan Blake, Lyann Comrack, Gil Ewing, Stephen Fettig, Susan Goodrich, Joshua Greenfield, Emmett Iverson, Dan Kopp, Jeri Langham, Andrew Lee, Mark Martucci, Roger Muskat, Ed Pandolfino, Zane Pickus, Linda Pittman, Ron Pozzi, Mark Sawyer, Adam Searcy, Samuel Schmidt, Elliot Schoenig, Steve Scott, Ian Souza-Cole, Gavin Stacey, Kevin Thomas, John Trochet, Tom Uslan, and James White. Thanks to everyone for their reports--without them, this column would not be possible.