William Pond Park, 9/21

Vaux’s Swift, *Image by Daniel Lee Brown*

Leader Mark Martucci reported: Fifteen birders detected 61 species of birds on a warm September morning along the American River Parkway. Highlights include Vaux's Swift, American Bittern, Green Heron, Peregrine Falcon, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Yellow Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Townsend's Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Western Tanager and Black-headed Grosbeak.

Effie Yeaw Nature Center Family Walk, 9/21

We saw two immature Red-tailed Hawks that appeared to be playing with each other in flight (dives), *Image by Daniel Lee Brown*

Rachael Cowan, co-leader with Dan Williams, reported: Dan and I had the pleasure of birding with 5 participants at Effie Yeaw Nature Center. It was a warm mid-morning start, with a buck following some does on the hill and calls from a flock of about 50 Sandhill Cranes flying over in v-formation. We spent a good amount of time observing Acorn Woodpeckers and their work preparing granaries for the harvest season. We were treated to views of two immature Red-tailed Hawks that appeared to be “playing” as they gently practiced some brief spiral dives with each other. Other raptors included a Cooper’s Hawk flying high above, a mature Red-tailed Hawk, and a Sharp-shinned Hawk. The birders were able to get really good views on each, as well as some Turkey Vultures. Ground squirrels were busy getting ready for winter and when one let out an alarm call we watched for a hawk, as we heard a California Towhee alarm as well. We did not see a Red-shouldered Hawk, but we heard one. We discussed bird language and how it can draw our attention to hawks or other activities in nature around us. At the river we saw a Green Heron on a log in the river, and a Snowy Egret flew downstream. Killdeer made a good appearance and some Mergansers were visible between dives. The youngest birder was about 10 or 11 and she was a natural with finding birds in her binoculars. We had 34 species total on our checklist and encouraged attendees to attend future SacAudubon field trips.

Teal Bend, 9/22

Leader Richard Barbieri reported: A group of eight people met on this first day of fall-- some old, some new to this interesting area. The day was over-all quite birdy with a variety of fall migrants. Some of our highlights were Sandhill Cranes, Western Flycatcher, Western Tanager, and Black-throated Grey, Townsend's, Wilson's, and Common Yellowthroat warblers. Total species count for the morning was 58-- not bad!

Paradise Beach Migration Watch, 9/26

This trip was canceled.

Point Reyes, 9/28

Chestnut-backed Chickadee, *Image by Daniel Lee Brown*

Leader Dan Williams reported: Six of us had a lovely day at the Point, despite a complete absence of vagrants...which is actually pretty atypical for a day at the Point this time of year! We started our day at Bovine Bakery in Point Reyes Station which meant that it was going to be an outstanding day no matter what! We then burned those calories walking the Earthquake Trail Loop at Bear Valley where we were treated to Band-tailed Pigeons, Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Pacific Wrens, a Wilson's Warbler, a Townsend's Warbler, a Hermit Thrush, and a Hutton's Vireo. As we were just getting back to our cars, an immature Broad-winged Hawk put in an appearance soaring and stiffly flapping its way toward the Outer Point. We then headed for the Outer Point, stopping first at The Lighthouse...where we enjoyed lots and lots of Song and White-crowned Sparrows. There was also a Fox Sparrow and a Say's Phoebe...and zero warblers.

Next, we stopped at The Fish Docks and Chimney Rock Trail where a feeding frenzy of Brown Pelicans, Heermann's Gulls, all three cormorants, and all three loons on Drake's Bay was very captivating. There was also an Osprey, a Northern Harrier, a Peregrine Falcon, a coyote, a couple of remnant elephant seals, a few Black Oystercatchers and Black Turnstones, and a snoozy Great Horned Owl...and zero warblers. Driving back toward Inverness, we enjoyed many Red-tailed Hawks, American Kestrels, several flocks of Tricolored Blackbirds, a herd of elk...and NARY a warbler! While the complete lack of warblers on the Outer Point was a tad disappointing, the day was really very nice. Lots of highlights among the incredible views of various birds and other wildlife and our little group was great company in an always magnificent setting.

Putah Creek Preserve, 9/29

Leader Ben Graber reported: We had a small group of 3 people, and we birded Putah Creek Preserve but didn't get to Lake Solano or Monticello Dam. Highlights were lots of Yellow and Wilson's Warblers, Orange-crowned Warblers, a Western Tanager, Red-tailed and Swainson's Hawks, California Quail, and Yellow-billed Magpies. The participants especially liked watching the warblers bathing in the creek!

Paradise Beach Migration Watch, 10/4

Black-throated Gray Warbler, *Image by Mary Forrestal*

Leader Rodd Kelsey reported: On October 4th, our last in a series of visits to Paradise Beach for fall migration, we had a fun group of seven people on what was a very nice, cool morning. The presence of fall migrants moving through had slowed down quite a bit with the many Yellow Warblers (more than 20 the week before on another visit) having disappeared, with one Yellow Warbler and one Black-throated Gray Warbler still hanging around. But the wintering birds were now here in force, including many White-crowned Sparrows, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Hermit Thrushes finally here. In all we had 27 species, with good looks at many.

Cosumnes River Preserve, 10/5

White-faced Ibis, *Image by Paul Miller*

Leader Paul Miller reported: It was a rather hot day for October but the birds didn’t seem to mind. The fields across from the main parking lot along Wetland Walk Trail were partially flooded providing some habitat for our incoming waterfowl. The Sandhill Cranes arrived a few weeks ago and didn’t disappoint. We listened and watched as they soared slowly downward, making their beautiful landings. Other standout birds were plentiful White-Faced Ibis and Greater Yellowlegs. We saw a few raptors flying way too high for a positive ID and many artsy Black-necked Stilts skulking around. The most abundant ducks were Northern Pintails.

TBD Migration Hotspot, 10/6

This trip was cancelled.

Bodega Bay, 10/12

We had a Cackling Goose fly right at us, *Image by Daniel Lee Brown*

Leader John York reported: Two people met in West Sacramento to go to Bodega Bay to meet two other people looking at loons and sea lions at the Tides. The birding was less than spectacular as the fog got worse all day. It began raining in earnest at about 11:00 so we went inside to lunch at Fisherman's Cove. Lunch was great as usual and is the real reason John leads trips to Bodega Bay! After lunch at Bodega Head, Ellen pointed out that John was enumerating the ways to tell Brandt's Cormorants from Pelagics by silhouette, while simultaneously shedding water like a duck. We decided to call it a day, since the weather app is a lying SOB and all birds were being described with a species name of "Sodden" -- Sodden Scrub Jay, Sodden Fox Sparrow, Sodden Cowbird. We had the palest Anna's Hummingbird, which took some time to sort out and a Cackling Goose fly right at us at Bodega Head. We really had fun with a very small wet group of very nice people.

Napa-Sonoma Marshes, Huichica Creek, 10/12

Wilson’s Snipe, *Image by Mary Forrestal*

Nancy Gronert, co-leader with Amy McDonald, reported: On a windless, cloudy Saturday morning ten birders showed up to walk wetland ponds searching out migration treats and prime habitat for shorebirds a half mile out. A good selection of raptors included a Cooper’s Hawk, Northern Harriers, a White-Tailed Kite devouring a rodent, a Peregrine Falcon cruising the ponds, an American Kestrel, a Red-shouldered and Red-tailed Hawk. The highlights of our walk included a Say’s Phoebe, Wilson’s Snipe, both types of Yellowlegs, Ring-billed and California Gulls, acrobatic Forster’s Terns diving, several Caspian Terns, and a nice selection of egrets, herons, Northern Pintail, grebes, and Black-necked Stilts. Our visit coincided with the area eBird reviewer who confirmed 10+ Snowy Plovers in one of the ponds which was quite a find for the area. He commented that the group’s fall trip time at high tide was perfect for the best spectacle of shorebirds as noted in the trip eBird report: https://ebird.org/checklist/S198607459.

Tens of thousands of peeps flew in clouds of activity at the main shorebird area. The eBird reviewer commented that he’d counted the peeps the day before: 25,000 Western Sandpipers. As it was high tide, hundreds of Least Sandpipers crowded onto downed tree snags in the pond to the west. The trip numbers included Black-bellied Plovers, Semipalmated Plovers, Long-billed Dowitchers, and several Red-necked Phalaropes. It was an incredible birding day!

Bridgeway Island Pond, 10/13

Cinnamon Teal (male and female) were abundant, *Image by Larry Hickey*

Leader Cliff Feldheim reported: On Sunday October 13, 8 of us spent about 2.5 hours walking along both the Bridgeway Island Pond and Shipping Channel Levee in West Sacramento and tallied 45 species of birds. Although the Blue-winged Teal weren't in abundance or fully colored, the Cinnamon Teal were abundant and many males were bright and colorful. We got good looks at Cattle Egrets, an uncommon species for the area, and an Osprey flying over the shipping channel. A bright beautiful male American Kestrel was repeatedly catching and eating dragonflies, and finally catching a mouse. A nice morning with a good diversity of species including 6 species of raptors, 6 waterfowl species, 14 species of passerines, and 15 species of other waterbirds.

Field Trip Findings: September 21 to October 13, 2024