The Natomas area extends from the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers to the Sutter County line, and from the Sacramento River to the Natomas East Main Drainage Canal (changed back to its original name of Steelhead Creek). Natomas is the southern-most region of the Sutter Basin, originally a large area of riparian forest, marshes and grassland where elk, deer, bears and birds were plentiful. One good way to bird this area is to cruise the farm roads and stop at promising fields and canals.
Birding the site: Because of its varied habitat, a large variety of birds may be seen. Swainson’s Hawks are present from April through September and are best observed while on the Garden Highway from North Bayou Way to Elverta Road. Tricolored Blackbirds have been known to nest near the East Levee Road just south of Riego Road. To find them, look for cattle and standing water in grassy areas with blackberry bushes growing on paddock fences. Scan every flock, as they travel with Brewer’s Blackbirds and Red-winged Blackbirds. eBird Sightings
Rice fields and canals attract many different species, including Black-crowned Night-Heron, Green Heron, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, White-faced Ibis, Double-crested Cormorant, Cinnamon Teal, Pied-billed Grebe, Long-billed Curlew, American Coot and Common Gallinule. As you travel through the rice fields, be on the lookout for Black Terns. Perhaps you will be the first person in over 50 years to report a breeding pair in Sacramento County. In the winter, the fields host a large number of migratory ducks, geese and shorebirds, and weedy fields and roadside tangles host a variety of sparrows. Watch for Loggerhead Shrikes and, in summer, Western Kingbirds on the power lines.
Swainson’s Hawk, Image by Daniel Lee Brown
The riparian area along the Garden Highway is rife with Oak Titmouse, Downy Woodpecker, and Nuttall’s Woodpecker year-round, and migrant warblers, Western Tanagers, and other songbirds in spring and fall. Raptors common to the area are Red-tailed Hawks, Red-shouldered Hawks, American Kestrels, White-tailed Kites and Northern Harriers.
Going east on Elverta Road to the East Levee Road, scan the fields and irrigation ditches. Turn right on East Levee Road and stop where it is safe to view waterfowl, shorebirds and waders in Steelhead Creek eBird Sightings. Continue south on East Levee Road to Elkhorn Boulevard. At the southeast corner of the intersection, you reach the gravel parking lot for the Ueda Parkway (see Wolf Ranch Wildlife Sanctuary, Ueda Parkway).
Directions: North Natomas can be reached via Interstate 5 or Interstate 80. The most direct route is to go north on Interstate 5 from downtown Sacramento (2.8 miles from Highway 50) and exit at the Garden Highway (the first exit after crossing the American River). Go right or west under Interstate 5. The Garden Highway is a narrow levee road, so caution is advised when driving. In 6.8 miles, the Garden Highway reaches Power Line Road. Heading north, Power Line Road crosses Elkhorn Boulevard, Elverta Road, and Riego Road. Highway 99, heading north from Interstate 5, also intersects these roads.
Carl Burke