Since it was added to the website in 2020 the Sacramento Area Birds Checklist (last updated in 2009) has been one of the most popular pages on the Sacramento Audubon website. In 2023 the website committee decided to see if it could be updated. Starting with eBird data from hotspots within the checklist area and then consulting a panel of experts, the checklist was updated and is now available on the website. https://www.sacramentoaudubon.org/sacramento-birds-checklist. We hope you will be as excited to check it out as we are to introduce it to you.
There have been quite a few changes to the checklist, most notably the addition of 15 species to the primary checklist. They are Mute Swan, Trumpeter Swan, Surf Scoter, Sanderling, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Least Tern, Pacific Loon, Glossy Ibis, Plumbeous Vireo, Red Crossbill, Swamp Sparrow, Tennessee Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, and Summer Tanager. We invite you to take some time and explore the checklist online and discover all that has been updated.
The Sacramento Area Birds Checklist follows the Clements Checklist for naming and order of species. While it may be counterintuitive for Greater Yellowlegs and Lesser Yellowlegs to be separated by Willet, this is how they are now categorized. On the website each family of birds is grouped together within a table. Families are grouped under additional headings such as Shorebirds. Click on any of these headings and it will take you to the Gallery of Birds - images of these species. You can also click on the name of any species to view images of that species. We are very thankful to all the wonderful photographers that have donated their pictures for use on the website. We are still looking to add pictures for some of the new species on the checklist.
A color code is used to indicate the likelihood of observing a species in a specific half of each month. The darker the color the more likely the species is to be observed. A key to the colors and other abbreviations and symbols is available below the checklist and on the Checklist Key page. Additionally, if you are viewing the checklist on a computer, you can hover your cursor over any colored box on the checklist and a note will pop up describing what the color indicates.
Habitat and nesting information are also included. Location recommendations for viewing some of the rarer species is another feature. Those birds with (L: Number) following their name have recommended locations at which they could be found. The numbers correlate to a point on the checklist's map. Click on a point on the map for more information on and directions to that location.
Many people have contributed to updating the checklist. The website committee members: Mary Forrestal, Marti Ikehara, Nancy Kapellas, and Jane Van Kessel spent an inordinate amount of time compiling and editing this information. The experts who contributed their time and knowledge: Chris Conard, Dan Airola, Gil Ewing, Maureen Geiger, Dave Johnson, Ed Pandolfino, Michael Perrone, Dan Tankersley, and John Trochet were indispensable. We’d also like to thank John Harding who set-up the original checklist on the SAS website, without his framework we wouldn’t be able to share this updated version with you. Thank you to everyone involved in this project.
A printed version of the updated checklist will soon be available for purchase. It will be in the same format as the “blue checklist” that so many of us have come to rely on when out in the field. Watch for the printed checklist at upcoming outreach events and Sacramento Audubon meetings, as well as in local Wild Birds Unlimited stores and the Effie Yeaw Nature Center.
If you have any questions or comments about the checklist or would like to contribute photos, please contact the website committee at sacramentoaudubon@gmail.com.
Sanderling is one of the new species on the Checklist, Image by Daniel Lee Brown