This is a large area on the north side of the river across from the Lower Sunrise Area that can easily satisfy a half-day of birding. There is a similar mix of habitats—cottonwood and willow riparian, interior live oak forest, and open areas with gravel tailings—but there is a wider corridor of habitat and numerous trails to get away from the crowds.
Yellow-breasted Chat, Image by Chris Conard
Birding the site: From the Sacramento Bar parking area, a loop of approximately two miles will cover many habitats. A bike trail connects the parking area with Bannister Park and a service road and a network of informal trails nearer the river await exploration. You can take the service road that runs along the river, eventually leading to the two sharp bends in the river at the San Juan Rapids. In this section, there are several ponds of trapped water left behind in the gravel tailings that can harbor waterbirds. A wide trail heads north along the river and connects to the bike trail just below the hill at Bannister Park. At this site, near the creek, Yellow-breasted Chats are sometimes heard in spring, and this may be one of the few sites in Sacramento County where they breed (this site may also be reached from Bannister Park by descending the hill on the bike trail and looking and listening along the creek that crosses the bike trail). You can return to the Sacramento Bar parking area via the bike trail. It is shaded by a dense stand of interior live oaks for most of the way.
From the Sacramento Bar parking area, you can walk across the river to Lower Sunrise via Jim’s Bridge just below the Sunrise Boulevard bridge.
eBird Sightings - Sacramento Bar, Bannister Park
Directions: From downtown Sacramento, take Highway 50 east for 14 miles from Interstate 5, and take the Sunrise Boulevard exit. Turn left on Sunrise, and drive north for 2.3 miles, crossing the river, to Fair Oaks Boulevard and turn left. Take an immediate left onto Pennsylvania Avenue, and follow it 0.4 mile to the parking area. For Bannister Park, travel west on Fair Oaks Boulevard 0.8 mile from Sunrise Avenue, and turn left on Bannister Road. The entrance fee is currently $7 per vehicle (or a $70 annual pass).
Chris Conard