Each month in the Seasonal Sightings blog, Chris Conard provides an update of the local rarities spotted the previous month. The Seasonal Sightings blog has posts going back to 2008. Older posts contain pictures of some of these wonderful rarities while newer posts have links to eBird Checklist with images of the birds.
Crested Caracara was spotted in April of 2012 along Mace Blvd. in Davis. Image by Sarah Mayhew.
Below is the most recent Seasonal Sightings. You can find more on the Seasonal Sighting blog.
February 2022 Seasonal Sightings
The avian calendar progressed on schedule even though the weather was unexpectedly warm and dry--yet another month without rain. By month's end, Sandhill Cranes were leaving, and early arrivals were here in the form of five regular species of swallows. The first Rufous Hummingbird of the season was reported locally on 2/19. Most notable records for the period were continuing from earlier in the season, including the female Long-tailed Duck found on 11/26 near the Nimbus Hatchery, usually below the Hazel Ave bridge, and continuing well into March. A Common Poorwill was flushed along Meiss Rd on 2/16, providing a nice surprise for the season, or really, any season.
The only Mountain Plovers reported in the region continued in ag fields along Hwy 45 in Yolo County, just south of the Colusa County line, at least through the first week of the month. A few interesting gull reports near the Yolo County Central Landfill included an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull beginning on 2/24, and a second-cycle bird (eBird checklist S103857399) beginning on 2/27. A first-cycle Glaucous Gull was first reported on 2/18 (eBird checklist S103534630), and an adult Glaucous Gull was reported on 2/25. One to two Pacific Loons were seen on Folsom Lake from Folsom Point through at least 2/21. The Neotropic Cormorant found on 12/31 along Brannan Island Rd at the junction of the San Joaquin River and Seven Mile Slough continued through at least 2/5; it likely persisted longer, but fewer people were making the long trip after more than a month of residence by this cooperative first county record. Long-eared Owls are very rare locally, but at least ten were found at a traditional roost site in late February at a portion of Cosumnes River Preserve with limited access.
The Eastern Phoebe at the southern tip of Tyler Island continued from 12/12 into March. A Lawrence's Goldfinch spent a week mid-month visiting a Sacramento yard just south of Sutter's Landing, and Meiss Rd produced two Vesper Sparrows in the same area the species was found the previous winter. A young male Summer Tanager first found feeding on bees at hives at Fairytale Town, William Land Park, on 2/16 (eBird checklist S103548804 and eBird checklist S103410208) continued into March. It was mostly cooperative, providing a winter highlight for dozens of birders. This is a rare bird locally, but most records have been of migrants in late summer, and this accounts for one of very few wintering records.
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: Max Brodie, Dan Brown, Aidan Brubaker, Krystal Coles, Lyann Comrack, Lily Douglas, Konshau Duman, Andy Engilis, Gil Ewing, Linda Gal, Susan Goodrich, Cliff Hawley, Liam Huber, Emmett Iverson, Jeri Langham, Andrew Lee, Jasen Liu, Mark Martucci, Ethan Monk, Nora Papian, Michael Perrone, Jim Rowoth, Steve Scott, Cameron Tescher, John Trochet, and Lynette Williams. Thanks to everyone for their reports--without them, this column would not be possible.