Rossmoor Bar, 3/16

Leader Kevin Thomas reported: It was a beautiful sunny almost start of spring morning as the six participants arrived in the Rossmoor Bar parking lot. The birds sure knew it was spring as we heard singing American Robin, Oak Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, and many other of our breeding birds as we stood listening for the first few minutes of the trip. We made our way down the path to the trail that runs along the river's edge and were greeted along the way by a calling Phainopepla; it didn't hang around long as it took flight and headed off in a southern direction. Along the water we picked up a pair of American Wigeon hanging out in the pond across the river at Sacramento Bar, not a common bird for the American River Parkway. We gathered up the other usual suspects on the river, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Common Merganser, and Double-crested Cormorant, among others.

As we meandered along the trail we spotted a pair of White-breasted Nuthatches carrying nesting material into a cavity on an oak tree, wishing them a successful nesting season as we moved along. A little further along we came across a pair of American Kestrels perched in a dead cottonwood. I had hoped they would be nesting at the location as they had for the last few years; we never saw them go to a nest but my guess is they will or already are nesting in the area. We made our way down the trail that loops through the oak woodland forest that is a bit set back from the river's edge. We hit our only real flock of birds here, a group that had singing Purple Finch, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, and Yellow-rumped Warblers. The Lesser Goldfinch will stick around to breed here but the rest will be on their way soon to the mountains to breed. We made our way back to the parking lot and reminded ourselves just how special a place the American River Parkway is, miles of habitat and trails for both the birds and us to enjoy.

Cosumnes River Preserve, 3/17

Leader Paul Miller reported: Two participants attended a meandering and enjoyable accessible birding trip at the Cosumnes River Preserve. One of the attendees is a volunteer at the Preserve with extensive knowledge of habitat, birds and ongoing volunteering efforts. The weather was spectacular with no wind and pleasant temperatures. While the Sandhill Cranes and Northern Pintails had already left for their northern breeding grounds there were plenty of birds still using the flooded habitat. Some of the standout species included; Swainson’s Hawk, Common Goldeneye, Cinnamon Teal, Bufflehead, Least Sandpiper, and Common Yellowthroat. We heard but did not see a Sora and Marsh Wren. For the first time I noticed a Mute Swan and hope this doesn’t become a growing trend.

William Pond Park Beginners' Walk, 3/17

Larry Hickey, co-leader with Nancy Kapellas and Jane Van Kessel, reported: Ten of us enjoyed a perfect spring morning on our March beginning birder field trip at the William Pond part of the parkway. A singing American Robin and Yellow-billed Magpies carrying nesting materials to their large nest right by the parking lot were the first spring signs. Lark Sparrows foraging in the grass, spectacularly colored Western Bluebirds, White-crowned Sparrows and enthusiastically singing Northern Mockingbirds entertained us. We spent some time looking at what appeared to be a unique looking, partly leucistic California Towhee.  Highlights included two active Bushtit nests, a Red-shouldered Hawk on a nest, many Great Blue Herons on nests in the rookery, and a Great Horned Owl occupying one of the rookery nests. 

Morgan Oaks Eternal Preserve, 3/21

Susan Goodrich, co-leader with Mary Forrestal, reported: Six birders (and two leaders) made sunrise drives to the Lincoln Grassland area and were rewarded with a beautiful morning amid oak woodlands, blooming California poppies, and green fields swarming with Western Meadowlarks. The coming of spring was evident in the pairing up and nest-hunting of American Kestrels, Tree Swallows, and Red-shouldered Hawks, and the singing of House Wrens, Red-winged Blackbirds, and a distinctive Common Yellowthroat. A beautiful male Western Bluebird showed off his electric blue plumage in the sun, while Lewis’s Woodpeckers displayed their rosy pink bellies at the tops of the oaks. An astute birder noted near the end of the walk that we had seen or heard five different species of woodpeckers: Lewis’s, Acorn, Nuttall’s and Downy woodpecker, and Northern Flicker! A big thank you to Jane T. for sharing scope views. A lovely walk, and 43 bird species, listed here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S165501843

Teal Bend, 3/24

Leader Richard Barbieri reported: With a group of 10 people we started out on a crisp morning to see what spring migration may have brought to this area. The House Wrens were singing and seemed to be everywhere along with Yellow-rumped Warblers. It was a very birdy morning however, with few highlights and very little spring migrants to show. We did have a Red-breasted Sapsucker, a Red-breasted Nuthatch, a few Swainson's Hawks, and an Osprey carrying a fish to its nest. We had a total of 54 species.

Beek's Bight, 3/30

Leader Nicole Barden reported: The road into Beek’s Bight is currently closed to cars due to construction, but because leader Nicole works for State Parks the group was able to gain special access through an alternate route. We started our walk at the Beek’s Bight parking lot and headed north along the shoreline.  Right in the parking lot we already started hearing singing birds. As we were standing there preparing for our walk, a Green Heron flew overhead. We found two Lark Sparrows who were visiting a puddle along the trail and as we were watching suddenly a Chipping Sparrow made an appearance.  It stayed in the area and everyone got to see it through their binoculars or the scope. Continuing down the trail, one of the people in the group asked “are those ALL Turkey Vultures?” and indeed they were!  As we looked through our binoculars and counted, more than 150 Turkey Vultures flew past, all heading North!  What a surprise!  In fact, the day was very raptor heavy!  We saw overhead Osprey, distant Red-tailed Hawks, glimpses of Cooper’s Hawks, and three Red-shouldered Hawks who were circling and shouting at each other. Along a narrow and grassy part of the trail, someone asked about the likelihood of finding ticks so we stopped and talked about it.  Nicole looked at the tips of grasses and found two species of ticks, American Dog Ticks and Pacific Coast Ticks hanging out and waiting for a chance to catch a ride on a passing animal.  We got to a rocky outcrop with a beautiful view and looked out on the North Fork of the American River and found 3 Western Grebes and 2 Common Loons, starting to look handsome with their summer plumage. Throughout the walk we enjoyed spring songs from Orange-crowned Warblers, Oak Titmice, House Wren, House Finch, and Lesser Goldfinch. Overall, we found 39 species, and our full list can be seen here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S167444246

Ancil Hoffman Park, 4/6

Leader Dan Williams reported: Fourteen of us had a lovely and sunny—though at the outset rather chilly—morning of birding at this treasured Carmichael golf course and park. The picnic grounds kicked us off with raucous nest-building Yellow-billed Magpies and what was for many of us our first Bullock's Oriole of the year. As we crossed to the riverside trail, a quartet of California Quail ran ahead of us, and Golden-crowned and White-crowned Sparrows worked their way out of the berry thickets into view. As we reached a clearing, a Peregrine Falcon burst across the sky, giving us fantastic, albeit brief views of its sleek form barreling toward the river, followed by the panicked piercing cries of a Greater Yellowlegs. Down by the river, where the salmon restoration has left behind reconfigured gravel bar habitat to explore, a Great Blue Heron, two Spotted Sandpipers, a flock of American Pipits, and the aforementioned yellowlegs gave us great scope views, while the Cliff Swallow colony busily attended to their mud nests on the old water tower along the shore.

There were also plenty of Tree Swallows wheeling overhead, among which we were able to parse out a couple of Violet-green and Northern Rough-winged Swallows. Continuing south along the trail, we paused on the lawn between the river and the driving range to enjoy several Western Bluebirds and Acorn Woodpeckers, when I realized I thought I was hearing a Chipping Sparrow singing...it turned out there were at least SEVEN Chipping Sparrows foraging in that area among the bluebirds and Yellow-rumped Warblers. Quite the total for one spot at this park any time of year. On the walk back along the driving range, the Peregrine put in a second appearance, a Swainson's Hawk drifted high overhead, at least two Cooper's Hawks coursed over with their white vent feathers flared, and we got to watch a pair of Red-shouldered Hawks constructing their nest near the clubhouse. All told we had 62 species on our 3 hours and approximately 1.25-mile walk.

North Natomas Regional Park, 4/7

Leader Ben Graber reported: This was one for the "you shoulda been there" category of Sacramento Audubon field trips. We had near-perfect weather and a large, diverse, and enthusiastic group that included everything from absolute beginners to Sacramento-area birding legends. The highlight was some beautiful views of the rare Yellow-crowned Night Heron in the rookery with Black-crowned Night Herons, and Snowy and Cattle Egrets. The YCNH was a lifer for many people in the group. Other highlights included Swainson's Hawks, Savannah and Lincoln's Sparrows, American Pipits, a pair of Gadwalls, Ring-necked Pheasants, Eurasian Collared-Doves, two Western Kingbirds, and an Orange-crowned Warbler. Early arrivals were treated to a Red-breasted Nuthatch in a small, skinny pine tree that may have been the park's only conifer.

Sailor Bar, 4/11

Leader Darrell Mohr reported: What a morning! Five people were already birding at 7:30 AM. The day was clear and cool. As we gathered in the parking lot there were birds moving around in a nearby tree. There were a number of different species, including two different Oriole species, a couple of Kingbirds, as well as Cowbirds, Yellow-rumped Warblers and House Finches. From the parking lot we went up to the "overlook" to view the Fish Hatchery. Tree Swallows and Double-crested Cormorants were perched on the crossing wire. We then went down the trail along the American River. Out on the river were Wood Ducks plus various other water birds. Farther on a couple of Great Blue Herons were roosting in a tree. We went inland to view a Great Horned Owl nest. There were two or three young owls in the nest, still covered with down feathers. From there we went to the pond area and all we saw were turtles. We then proceeded back to the starting point and saw a Black-throated Grey Warbler perched in a tree. Our total count for the day was 55—a very good day.

Lake Solano County Park, 4/13

Leader Paul Miller reported: Trip cancelled due to weather.

River Bend Park, 4/13

Leader Dana Miller-Blair reported: Trip cancelled due to weather.

Sweetwater Creek, 4/14

Leader Richard Barbieri reported: This wasn't a day you'd normally want to go out birding with a major drop in temperature and an overcast sky; however, 8 of us walked up and down the Sweetwater drainage and found a total of 52 species. It seemed a bit early in the migration but we did see a few of the normal target birds including Black-headed Grosbeaks, Hammond's and Ash-throated Flycatchers; Cassin's and Hutton's Vireos; Black-throated Gray, Wilson's, and MacGillivray's Warblers.

William Pond Park Beginners' Walk, 4/14

Larry Hickey, co-leader with Jane Van Kessel and Nancy Kapellas, reported: 12 enthusiastic and sharp-eyed beginning birders joined us on a chilly spring morning at the William Pond section of the American River Parkway.  Along with the customary large numbers of Canada Geese we were able to get good looks at Yellow-billed Magpies interacting with their nests, Red-shouldered Hawks, Great Blue Herons, a Snowy Egret, several Pied-billed Grebes, Double-crested Cormorants, many American Coots and Yellow-rumped Warblers in their breeding plumage.  Highlights included two active Bushtit nests and good scope views of a Merlin.  Just as we were about to leave, Jane spotted two American White Pelicans circling high overhead.