Salmon Habitat Reconstruction at Ancil Hoffman Park

In an effort to restore habitat for salmon and steelhead, gravel restoration projects have been undertaken in the American River west of the Nimbus Dam.  A major project was undertaken last year at Sailor Bar that resulted in successful increases in salmon and steelhead nests in the restored gravel.  Another gravel restoration project is scheduled for Ancil Hoffman Park.  If all the permits are finalized there will be heavy equipment in and around the river at Ancil Hoffman Park for the month of September 2020.   While it is somewhat shocking to see heavy equipment in the river, steps are taken to assure the equipment is managed to eliminate contamination of the river.  More information about these habitat restoration projects can be found at:  https://www.waterforum.org/the-river/habitat-management/ .

Letter to Our Members

June 4, 2020

Dear Sacramento Audubon Chapter Members:

As the events of the past week have demonstrated, there are dangers facing our fellow birders, naturalists, and nature lovers who are people of color. Since Christian Cooper’s experience in New York City’s Central Park went viral, more people of color have come forward with their harrowing and heartbreaking stories sharing the lengths to which they must go to work, study, or just enjoy the outdoors.

We would like to draw your attention to National Audubon Society’s swift response in support of Christian Cooper::

“Black Americans often face terrible daily dangers in outdoor spaces, where they are subjected to unwarranted suspicion, confrontation, and violence,” said Audubon SVP for State Programs Rebeccah Sanders. “The outdoors – and the joy of birds – should be safe and welcoming for all people. That’s the reality Audubon and our partners are working hard to achieve. We unequivocally condemn racist sentiments, behavior, and systems that undermine the humanity, rights, and freedom of Black people. We are grateful Christian Cooper is safe. He takes great delight in sharing New York City’s birds with others and serves as a board member of the New York City Audubon Society, where he promotes conservation of New York City’s outdoor spaces and inclusion of all people.”

As board members of the Sacramento Audubon Society, we wholeheartedly agree with the sentiments expressed by National Audubon. We applaud their efforts to work towards a more equitable society and we commit to doing the same as an organization. Through education, outreach, and collaboration we plan to expand our support of our fellow (and future) birders of color locally to ensure everyone has access to, and can enjoy birds and the natural world. We know there is much work ahead of us but we view these challenges as opportunities for positive change. We hope we can count on your support.

Sincerely,

Members of the Board, Sacramento Audubon Society

For more information on National Audubon’s response visit

https://www.audubon.org/ news/audubon-statement-incident-central-parks-ramble

For more information on #BlackBirdersWeek visit

https://www.audubon.org/news/ black-birders-week-promotes-diversity-and-takes-racism-outdoors

COVID 19 Update

Due to the continuing coronavirus threat, SAS is not offering field trips for the month of June. It is not clear when they will be resumed, so please check the SAS website and Facebook page as they will reflect future field trips as soon as they are scheduled once again.

2019–2020 Christmas Count Results by Area

Woodfords, December 19, 2019

Our total this year (2019) for the Woodfords Christmas Bird Count was 90 species. 15 counters in 5 areas counted 3282 individual birds, most before lunch at 1:30pm. Several of us went back out after lunch and added 3 species, Lewis’s Woodpecker (5), one Merlin at Indian Creek Reservoir and 14 Wild Turkeys along Carson River Road. Looking back at the history of the count, (CAWO is the code for this count) I see that there are no count totals recorded prior to 1990. We believe that the count started in 1975 and data has been submitted every year since. We thought that 90 species might be a record high but the high is 91 back in 2012. The low species total is 62 in 2002. The average rounds off to 80. We did not add any new species to the count list this year but a few species had been observed on fewer than 5 counts. Ross’s Goose has only occurred on 3 counts, Greater White-fronted Goose, Turkey Vulture, Lewis’s Woodpecker and Say’s Phoebe on only 4. Another highlight was 170 Pinyon Jays observed at Indian Creek Reservoir. And a non-bird highlight was a beautiful and very cooperative Bobcat!

Thanks again to everyone who helped! Compiler Dan Brown.

Sacramento, December 21, 2019

The 71st Sacramento Christmas Bird Count took place on December 21, 2019. The weather was most acceptable, with some patchy morning fog giving way to mostly cloudy skies, but no rain and highs in the mid 50s.

158 species were recorded on Count Day, with 6 additional species being recorded during Count Week for a grand total of 164; only 5 shy of our record high of 169 which was reached in 2015. Count week birds included Eared and Horned Grebes, Black- bellied Plover, Western Sandpiper, Forster’s Tern, and Chipping Sparrow.

The clear highlight of the count was the continuing young male Vermilion Flycatcher at Tanzanite Park in Natomas, which was originally found there in late October, and was nice enough to stick around and become a first for our count, while getting redder and redder by the day.

Other highlights included a Hairy Woodpecker in West Sacramento (first for the count in 20 years), a pair of Red Crossbills at East Lawn Cemetery (an excellent find in a year when montane species started showing up in fall, but had tapered off dramatically by December), a swamp sparrow at Yolo Bypass, and a splendid variety of gulls at the Yolo County Landfill including a continuing Lesser Black-backed (only the 2nd for the count), and 2 Glaucous Gulls.

Overall themes of this year’s count were lower than average numbers of large waterfowl (geese and swans), but continuing increases in dabbling ducks, especially pintail, shoveler, and all 3 teal species. A big bounce-back in the number of Canvasback was nice to see, and a Greater Scaup (the first for the count in 5 years), and an above average 3 Barrow’s Goldeneye were a nice surprise (they are quite uncommon in our circle). We had new high counts for long-billed dowitcher (3,830), Townsend’s Warbler (an incredible 13!), and Common Raven(65) as they continue to invade the valley. 4 Pacific Wrens was the highest total for our count in15 years of that species, and footage of the bird along Bannon Creek in Natomas is being reviewed and may in fact have been the much rarer Winter Wren (the jury is still out on that one!). Compiler Dan Williams.

Folsom, December 29, 2019

We ran the 42nd Folsom Christmas Bird Count on December 29, 2019, on a cool, overcast and breezy day. We had 76 counters in 32 teams, and five parties did some owling. The species total was 143 (if including Mute Swan), outside the historic range of 123 and last year’s high of 148. Unlike counts on the flats of the Valley, this count struggles to come up with waterfowl and shorebirds. We had a single Greater White-fronted Goose and three Cackling Geese, but missed Snow Geese and Tundra Swans. Invasive Mute Swans were at a new high of 61. We missed Lesser Scaup, Canvasback, and Northern Pintail, but did pick up two Cinnamon Teal. For the second year in a row, we recorded only one Wood Duck. Barrow’s Goldeneye were low at only 20, while Hooded Mergansers were up to 43. We missed Long-billed Dowitchers, but two Dunlin were good for this count. Among over 17,000 total gulls, we had a single Mew Gull and an adult Glaucous Gull. Two Osprey were found along with 14 Bald Eagles, seven Ferruginous Hawks, six Rough-legged Hawks, and one Golden Eagle. We also found five Merlins, five Prairie Falcons, three Peregrine Falcons, a single Barn Owl, two Burrowing Owls, and one Western Screech-Owl. Only one Lewis’s Woodpecker was found.

The most shocking result was missing two species for the first time: Loggerhead Shrike and Horned Lark. Both have been declining, but a complete miss of Horned Lark is really unex- pected. Yellow-billed Magpies were up modestly to 65. At 46, Common Ravens came in one shy of the record. Other highlights included singles of Steller’s Jay, Brown Creeper, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and two Golden-crowned Kinglets. Four Varied Thrushes could have easily been missed, along with a single White-throated Sparrow and Common Yellowthroat. Two Bell’s Sparrows and eight Lawrence’s Goldfinches were excellent finds; Purple Finches had a good showing with 48, but 93 Pine Siskins were a surprise in a season where they don’t seem widespread. We found 13 Tricolored Blackbirds--a species increasingly easy to miss in rapidly expanding Folsom.

Thanks to all who participated and especially to the area leaders who do a lot of extra work organizing their teams. Compiler Chris Conard.

4th Annual Teen Christmas Bird Count - January 5, 2020

Twenty teens, parents, and leaders eagerly trekked the trails of William B. Pond Recreational Area in search of birds in the fog - a perfect time to learn how to listen for birds. 

As the walk wrapped up, the fog was burning off and we found we had a total of 59 species of birds, 11 of them being new to this count. 

Thank you to Teen Leaders/Mentors:  Craig DeMartini, Cliff Hawley, David Rosen, Sandra Steurer, and Jane Van Kessel, who made the bird world very engaging to our teens and their families. 

Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Image by Larry Hickey

We ate lunch at our traditional Mexican restaurant and had our drawing for door prizes.  Thank you to the SAS membership for donating so many exciting items to choose from.  What a good way to get our teens started in the study and appreciation of birds. 

Trip highlights mentioned by participants included:  seeing a Cooper’s and Sharp-Shinned Hawk for comparison, flashy color on Ruby-Crowned Kinglets, Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers, very cute Bufflehead, and seeing deer swimming in the river as they crossed.  Notable finds were:  Greater White-Fronted Geese and Pine Siskins flying over, a lone Gadwall, Yellow-Billed Magpies, a Hermit Thrush, and Phainopepla.

by Wendy Warren Money

Bufflehead, Image by Ray Rozema

January 4, 2020 - Kids’ Christmas Bird Count

Saturday morning dawned with a thin band of rain and fog going through the Sacramento area and apparently, this discouraged some families from showing up. Thankfully, the weather cleared by the time the families arrived.

Cliff Hawley, Lynne Tweten, Dan Williams, Craig DeMartini and Larry Hickey took two teams out who were able to find 50 species. Everyone’s favorite bird was a cooperative Merlin perched for long enough that everyone was able to look through the scopes and see this beautiful falcon. Children always enjoy the turkeys and they did not disappoint with more than 20 seen by the teams. Deer, especially a stag with large antlers were also fun for the kids to see.

Merlin, Image by Larry Hickey

There were so many raffle gifts that all children were able to pick three gifts from the tables – this, of course, is always a hit. After the raffle, Rachael Cowan, the Volunteer Coordinator for Effie Yeaw, brought out Orion, a Swainson’s Hawk who can fly but sadly, is so imprinted on humans we would not be safe, so now he will be cared for permanently by Nature Center staff. He was very calm, and everyone was incredibly impressed with how beautiful he was.

All in all, the children, their families and the SAS leaders all had a grand time!

Wild Turkey, Image by Daniel Brown