Date: 1/20/26 4:09 pm From: Nathan Parmeter via groups.io <nathanparmeter...> Subject: [centralvalleybirds] 2025 Eastern Merced County CBC Results
Hi all Central Valley Birders,
The annual Eastern Merced County CBC was held on Wednesday, December 17, 2025. 24 participants saw 105 species, which is the CBC's second-highest. Among the 5,616 total birds seen were the CBC's first Green Heron and Canyon Wren, the first Western Sandpiper and American Barn Owl sightings since the inaugural CBC in 2016, the first Band-tailed Pigeon since 2017, and record numbers of Burrowing Owls (6) and Long-billed Curlews (253). Thank you to everyone who participated!
Nathan ParmeterSilver Spring, MD (formerly Fresno, CA)
Date: 1/19/26 9:45 pm From: Glennah Trochet via groups.io <trochetj...> Subject: [centralvalleybirds] Sacramento County birds this holiday weekend
Dear Birders,
I made two visits to a private ranch in far southeastern Sacramento County this weekend. On Saturday, dense fog in town gave way to clear skies at the ranch and widespread frost. I did a more usual (for me) route among watered, wooded ravines on the east side of the ranch and over grassy benches between the drainages. Perhaps the least expected thing was a western meadowlark whose song was amazingly like a male American wigeon's call! Other highlights among the birds were these: ferruginous hawk- 1 Lewis's woodpecker- 12 phainopepla- 2 mountain bluebird- 4 purple finch- 22 vesper sparrow- 1 I also saw one *Batrachoseps* salamander.
Today I accompanied Zane Pickus as we scoped out possible sites in the grasslands where he might do some field research for the wildlife museum at UC Davis. I was more focused on showing Zane where I'd seen interesting things in the past than finding birds in the dense fog. But his sharp eyes enabled us to see a handful of things of note: ferruginous hawk- 3 burrowing owl- 1 merlin- 2 Lewis's woodpecker- 15
Date: 1/16/26 5:40 pm From: L Markoff via groups.io <canyoneagle...> Subject: [centralvalleybirds] Thank you Chris Conard for posting about YF Gull!
Hello Chris, and all CVBirders!
Chris, I wanted to thank you for posting about the Yellow-footed Gull on
this list! If you hadn't, I probably would have missed it. I am subscribed
to Calbirds, the CA ebird RBA, and a sea of other ebird RBAs. Sometimes I
don't have time to scan them all, therefore, I often miss some notices of
special birds.
Yellow-footed Gull was a Quest Bird of mine for a number of years, but I
hadn't had the opportunity to get down to the Salton Sea to try for it yet.
You saved me a long trip, because this morning I got it at the San Luis
Creek CG, yay! Here's my checklist, if anyone is interested:
In case they are on this list, I also want to say thank you to Dale Swanberg
for sharing his special gull with us, and to John Fulton for giving me tips
for finding and identifying the bird. It was nice to meet you, John!
I really appreciate this list, CV Birds to the rescue!
Date: 1/9/26 9:59 pm From: Chris Conard via groups.io <conardc...> Subject: [centralvalleybirds] Merced Yellow-footed Gull
--------- Forwarded message ------
Date: Fri, Jan 9, 2026, 2:47 PM
Subject: [countybirders] Merced Yellow-footed Gull
To: <countybirders...>
Yesterday Dale Swanberg photographed a Yellow-footed Gull along the
California Aqueduct where it flows into O'neil Forebay at the San Luis
Creek campground. It was still there at 7:30 this morning and I got some
photos of it along with 5 others, some who came all the way from San Luis
Obispo for it. This is a first county record, but it might be the same bird
I photographed two weeks ago at the same spot while it was flying around
with its legs and feet tucked in. I just assumed it was a Western Gull
although it seemed to be rather large and dark backed for one. I didn't
even consider what else it could have been as I hadn't heard about Jim
Gain's Yellow-footed Gull last April at the Modesto WTP. Could this be the
same bird wandering about? It appears to hang out around fishermen up by
the control gates upstream from the campground and is fairly calm. Gary
Woods-Fresno
‐--‐-------------------
Date: 1/1/26 6:28 pm From: Chris Conard via groups.io <conardc...> Subject: [centralvalleybirds] It’s Official: California Bird Atlas Has Launched
I strongly encourage folks to get involved with this ambitious project.
Chris Conard
Sacramento
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Van Pierszalowski <van...>
Subject: It’s Official: California Bird Atlas Has Launched
Join California’s first statewide Bird Atlas today; your observations will
help guide conservation for decades.
If you are not able to see this mail, click here
<https://lq9tp.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/mr/sh/6rqJ8GoudeITQRjgnMBqUgnRwif/boqYKjT8-ijS> [image: California Bird Atlas silhouette logo of a California Thrasher.
Design: Shayna Marchese.]
<https://lq9tp.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/sh/6rqJfgq8dINmO1iZIiynNIU8Et7/aODD47PiIa5A> [image: Did you know Great Horned Owl nests with young (NY) are also
possible in January? Photo: Mick Thompson/Flickr.]
<https://lq9tp.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/sh/6rqJfgq8dIPRQU0in2OLItc3sC9/CoRu-s4Od3GU>
*Did you know Great Horned Owl nests with young (NY) are possible in
January?* Photo: Mick Thompson/Flickr.
It’s Official: California Bird Atlas Has Launched!
Today marks the launch of California’s first statewide Breeding Bird Atlas,
a community-powered initiative to document breeding birds across the state
and generate the science needed to guide habitat protection, restoration,
and long-term conservation planning for decades to come.
Thank you again for joining the California Bird Atlas
<https://lq9tp.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/sh/6rqJfgq8dIR6SwIsHLntEUjzVVB/grxdZpa75Umw> (CBA) newsletter — your official source for updates from CBA, the newly
formed independent nonprofit leading this landmark initiative alongside
state agencies, dozens of partner organizations, *and (starting today)
thousands of birders like you*.
Take 2 Minutes to Join the Atlas Project!
All birders are now officially invited to join the project by visiting the
new California Bird Atlas eBird website here
<https://lq9tp.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/sh/6rqJfgq8dIUQXqtBFycz5gzqm7F/dCh22rkUVW9F>.
Simply click *“Join Project”* (or “Log In to Join Project”), and you will
automatically be able to contribute checklists to the Atlas project.
*Brandt's Cormorants may return to their colony sites as early as
January! *Photo:
Rick Evans.
Did you know some of California’s colonial waterbirds may have already
returned to their colony sites?
We will be growing our team, expanding resources, and continuing to build
this grassroots movement in the coming months. As we launch, early
donations are especially impactful — supporting training, field tools, and
outreach in the first critical months. We’re a nonprofit, and every
contribution is tax-deductible and genuinely appreciated. If you have the
means, *please consider making a gift today to help the Atlas start strong
— your support right now truly matters. Donate here
<https://lq9tp.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/cl/f/sh/SMK1E8tHeGM0l5agvbXUYcITvewz/4zgJE_Hy2kTv>.*
Date: 12/31/25 11:39 am From: Fred Werner via groups.io <sustainablefred...> Subject: [centralvalleybirds] CV-wide updates?
Happy New Year everyone! Is there a blog or website (or a person?) that can give a broad sense of where in the valley the biggest waterfowl flocks are at any given time, or how the birding is at various hotspots relative to what it's typically like (or can be at its best) at this time of year? Or how would you recommend someone visiting the Central Valley decides which of the many rich birding areas is their best bet on any particular day?
Each year, we make a few trips into the valley to see the wintering cranes and waterbirds. And every year, it's a bit of a struggle to get good info on current conditions that could help us decide which route to take. Should we head north to Sacramento NWR or Gray's Lodge? Or south to San Luis or Merced? Or stay in the Delta, maybe Cosumnes, Woodbridge Rd., Staten Island? Or explore other places?I've often posed the question here, and typically have gotten helpful responses though of course it's never truly comprehensive.
eBird does have tons of data, and it's easy to map hotspots by species #, and high-numbers of a given species. For each hotspot, it also shows recent lists or the lack thereof (which leaves the question of whether there's few birds there or it just hasn't been birded recently for other reasons). It seems like someone could use that data to support a broad overview. But sifting through it on your own is time-consuming and unreliable, it didn't pan out so well for us yesterday.
Yesterday, we started at the Beckwith Rd. Observation Platform, which is usually fantastic, and someone had reported 3,000 Snow Geese there on eBird the day before. When we got there, it was quite dry, and there were no waterbirds, it didn't seem like those fields had been flooded anytime recently. We did however find some flocks visible far south of the road, ~1/2 a mile east of there.
Then we went to the San Luis NWR, which has also been great on previous visits, and had some intriguing birds reported that morning. Yes, we found dozens of species, and the massive murmurations of Brewer's Blackbirds and starlings were truly astonishing. And I shouldn't complain about dipping on a Short-eared Owl or Virgina Rail. But it just seemed really quiet overall. Refuge staff said their numbers are way down this year, and their typical big flocks of waterfowl haven't arrived yet, they don't know why. This is the kind of info that would've been useful to know beforehand.
Of course there's never any guarantees in birding, and the quest to see what we can find is a big part of the fun. It just would be helpful if there was some way to find current info on conditions and overall bird pop.s at various locations, to help us choose where to go on the limited days we have to explore the valley, and experience the astounding wildlife spectacle that we're graced with each winter.
