Date: 3/13/26 9:18 am From: kuschmanfred via groups.io <makusch...> Subject: [centralvalleybirds] Arrivals
The first Hooded Oriole showed up this morning, a male, hopping reproachfully around one of my hummingbird feeders looking for that one opening without one of those yellow plastic flowers that allows them access. That has now been corrected. Next up, Barn Swallows, Bullock’s Orioles, and Black-chinned Hummingbird birds. Both Eurasian Collared Doves and Mourning Doves have begun building nests.
Manfred Kusch South bank of Putah Creek 3 miles west of Davis
Date: 3/12/26 11:11 am From: Kate Brennan via groups.io <kbrennan6699...> Subject: [centralvalleybirds] FOS Calliope Hummingbird
I spotted my first Calliope Hummer passing through today - landed in a persimmon tree just beginning to bud out. Clearly visible dark magenta streaks on throat and looking ever so tiny compared to Anna's. Nevada County, 1200' elev. Kate Brennan
The first Rufous Hummingbirds, 2 males, showed up in my garden yesterday: South bank of Putah Creek, 3 miles west of Davis. Red-shouldered Hawks are back at their nest from last year in a cottonwood tree on the bank of the creek directly behind our house. A second pair is building a nest a third of a mile further upstream where a pair of Red-tailed Hawks is refurbishing their nest from last year a bit further downstream. White-breasted Nuthatches, always among the early breeders around here, have reoccuppied a nest box from last year and are already sitting on eggs. Black Phoebes are finishing a nest on the north side of our house (their usual spot) and the first House Finch nest is near completion on the beam of our back porch. House Wrens are singing vigorously, Northern Mockingbirds are chasing each other and are beginning to sing, California Scrub-jays have paired up and are tentatively picking up some nesting material, but so far with little urgency. Quite wonderful to witness all this activity in the environment of unfolding spring.
Date: 3/11/26 12:22 pm From: Chris Spurgeon via groups.io <chris...> Subject: [centralvalleybirds] Pasadena Audubon now accepting 2026 grant applications
Pasadena Audubon is pleased to announce that we are now accepting Spring 2026 applications for our Research and Educational Grants program. We’re offering grants up to $5,000 to help fund both scientific research and community-based programs. We’re particularly interested in avian research that’s relevant to Southern California or the Pacific Flyway.
We’re also offering grants up to $1,000 to young birders and students (undergraduate and graduate) to help defray the rising costs of scientific conferences and related events.
The deadline for applications is fast approaching, April 3rd, 2026, and applicants will be notified of acceptance by April 20, 2026. Full details are online at www.pasadenaaudubon.org/grants ( http://www.pasadenaaudubon.org/grants ).
Questions? Contact <grants...>
Please feel free to widely redistribute this notice!
Date: 3/10/26 2:48 pm From: Chuck & Barbara Vaughn via groups.io <cevaughn...> Subject: [centralvalleybirds] Noyo Pelagics 2026 dates - buttons now working + N Cal Pelagic Trips]
Greetings Central Valley Birders- Forwarding a message from Peter Pyle:
Our buttons for full-day Noyo Pelagics trips are now ready for sign-ups
for the previously mentioned dates:
We had a fine half-day trip on March 1st including an unexpected
Scripps's Murrelet and early Humpback Whales (see report at the link
above). We will be offering more half-day trips on a short-notice (7-10
day) basis as good-weather windows approach; if you may be interested in
these you can monitor Mendobirds or sign up for the Mendo-Pelagics io
group serve (<https://groups.io/g/Mendocino-Pelagics>). See
https://noyopelagics.com/about-our-trips/ for more on our half-day,
full-day, and educational trips.
We have attempted this year to organize some back-to-back trips along
the NorCal coast, or with a day or two in between. Unfortunately at this
time there are no trips planned to Cordell Bank since the Bodega Bay
skipper sold his boat this winter. Hopefully something will work out
there soon. For now, we have some back-to-back or even week-long
opportunities for multiple trips from Sausalito, Fort Bragg, and Eureka.
I have listed these below (with sign-up information below the dates); if
you know of ABA folks or others around the country that may be
interested, please pass this along. Logan has also set up a Google
calendar which he will finalize tonight at:
Hope to see you up here for a trip, or two, or more!
Good birding, Peter
Northern California Pelagic Trip dates:
Fort Bragg (Noyo Pelagics) - April 4th (Saturday)
Sausalito - SF waters trip April 18th (Saturday) - currently full but
see below*
Fort Bragg (Noyo Pelagics) - April 26th (Sunday)
Eureka Rob Fowler - May 2nd (Saturday)
Fort Bragg (Noyo Pelagics) - May 9th (Saturday) -
Eureka RRAS - May 10th (Sunday)
Fort Bragg (Noyo Pelagics) - May 30th (Saturday)
Eureka Rob Fowler - June 13th (Saturday)
Sausalito Al's Adventures - Farallon Islands trips weekly June 13 - August 8
Fort Bragg (Noyo Pelagics) - June 14th (Sunday)
Eureka RRAS - June 20th (Saturday)
Fort Bragg (Noyo Pelagics) - June 26th (Friday)
Eureka RRAS - July 18th (Saturday)
Fort Bragg (Noyo Pelagics) - July 20th (Monday)
Eureka Rob Fowler - July 25th (Saturday)
Fort Bragg (Noyo Pelagics) - August 3rd (Monday)
Eureka RRAS - August 15th (Saturday)
Eureka Rob Fowler - August 29th (Saturday)
Fort Bragg (Noyo Pelagics) - August 30th (Sunday)
Eureka RRAS - September 5th (Saturday)
Sausalito Al's Adventures - SF trip September 13th (Sunday)
Eureka Rob Fowler - September 19th (Saturday)
Eureka Rob Fowler - October 3rd (Saturday)
Eureka RRAS - October 10th (Saturday)
Fort Bragg (Noyo Pelagics) - October 17th (Saturday)
Eureka Rob Fowler - October 24th (Saturday)
Fort Bragg (Noyo Pelagics) - November 1st (Sunday)
Eureka Rob Fowler - November 14th (Saturday)
Eureka RRAS - November 21st (Saturday)
Eureka Rob Fowler - December 5th (Saturday)
*The 4/18 trip from Sausalito is full but there are still spaces left on
the back-up date (4/21). Contact Logan Kahle <logan...> if
interested in this back-up trip.
Date: 3/7/26 7:22 pm From: Glennah Trochet via groups.io <trochetj...> Subject: [centralvalleybirds] Cosumnes birds this morning
Dear Birders,
Today I did the monthly survey of the Lost Slough route west of Franklin Blvd. I ran into a birder on the boardwalk who had seen the ruff earlier this morning (I missed it). But I had some fun finds nonetheless, heavy on the hybrid waterfowl. Better passerines included one northern rough-winged swallow and one Townsend's warbler.
The better ducks included these: blue-winged teal- 6 Brewer's duck (gadwall x mallard)- 1 American wigeon x Eurasian wigeon- 1 common teal- 1 green-winged teal x common teal- 1 hooded merganser- 3
Date: 2/28/26 8:39 pm From: Chris Conard via groups.io <conardc...> Subject: [centralvalleybirds] Bufferlands portion of the Rio Cosumnes CBC on 29 Dec 2025
Hi folks,
I also typically share the summary of the Bufferlands portion of the Rio
Cosumnes CBC that I send to staff and volunteers.
On Monday, December 29, 2025, a record 20 counters made up of Bufferlands
staff and volunteers participated in the 30th annual Rio Cosumnes Christmas
Bird Count (CBC). The weather was challenging, being cold and foggy for
most of the day. The first couple hours were nearly fruitless. We divided
into five teams, but had limited access on the west side of the property
because of flooding (the water level was at 5.0 ft above sea level with an
attenuated connection to the waters of the Delta). The Bufferlands and the
EchoWater Facility (formerly the Sacramento Regional Wastewater Treatment
Plant) it surrounds is at the northwestern portion of the 15-mile diameter
CBC circle that includes the Cosumnes River Preserve, Stone Lakes National
Wildlife Refuge, western Elk Grove, northwestern Galt, and a portion of
Merritt Island in Yolo County.
We recorded 102 species on the Bufferlands, within a historical range of 90
to 120, and counted 11,443 individual birds, within a historical range of
7,723 to 811,644. We didn’t add any species to our cumulative total of 166
species recorded on the Bufferlands in the count’s 30 years. This is our
lowest species total since 2000, and the lowest since we have been covering
District property west of I-5. We also recorded the fewest number of total
birds since 2000, though that is mostly because we had only 1,336 invasive
European Starlings, down from an average of over 100,000—so our low bird
total isn’t entirely a bad thing. I participated in three other CBCs in the
region this season and all were hampered by fog or rain—it was a rough
patch of weather for surveying birds.
Starting with waterfowl, numbers and diversity were well below average. We
missed Snow Geese, Ross’s Geese, Cackling Geese, as well as Tundra Swans,
and recorded 187 Greater White-fronted Geese. We missed invasive Mute Swans
that we had found the two previous years. Duck numbers and diversity were
disappointing. We missed Canvasback, one of our mascot species, for the
third year in a row, had only three Ring-necked Ducks (150 were seen the
day before), and missed Ruddy Duck. Dabbling duck numbers were also on the
low side and with no surprises, though the two Cinnamon Teal found could
easily have been missed. We found seven Hooded Mergansers and one Common
Merganser; the latter we have missed more often than not in recent years,
while Hoodies have become a staple since 2006. Waterfowl appear to be thin
on the ground in the region. This may be because of widespread flooding
resulting in the birds being more widely but thinly distributed--but that
is only a guess.
After finding our first Wild Turkeys (2) in 2003, numbers ballooned to
nearly 500 by 2019. They have been slowly falling in the last few years,
and were at 201 this year. It will be interesting to see if this is a trend
or a blip. Prior to 2003, we expected at least 100 Ring-necked Pheasants on
count day. Recent totals have been in the single digits, but we missed them
for the first time this year. We found three Virginia Rails and 11
Soras—the latter were quite vocal in the late afternoon. We missed and no
longer expect to find Common Gallinules on the property. Sandhill Cranes
have become regular for more than a decade, and this time we recorded 104.
A single flyby Long-billed Curlew was a nice pickup. We found an impressive
eight Spotted Sandpipers, all in the SSBs (sewer ponds). Five Western
Sandpipers is a nice total for a species recorded for just the sixth time,
but for the fifth year in a row. We only recorded a single gull, a
California Gull. The loafing gull flocks at Black Crown Lake and/or the
SSBs on sunny winter days did not materialize on this cold and foggy one.
Raptors numbers were a bit below average, which is probably best explained
by the cold and foggy day. We found 11 White-tailed Kites, only five
Northern Harriers, and 34 Red-tailed Hawks. Two Bald Eagles, a species that
attempted to nest here last year, accounted for just the second time we
have found the species on the CBC. We recorded three Barn Owls, only four
Great Horned Owls, and a good total of seven Burrowing Owls, especially
considering cold conditions that often keep them hidden. We recorded 13
American Kestrels, two Merlins, and two Peregrine Falcons, but missed
Prairie Falcon. Two Acorn Woodpeckers were a nice surprise (found only four
times), as was a Red-breasted Sapsucker (found only six times).
Yellow-billed Magpies and Loggerhead Shrikes have declined since 2005 when
West Nile virus arrived in our area--we found just 13 magpies and two
shrikes. Two Common Ravens were recorded. This species wasn’t regular in
our area until about a dozen years ago, but we have now found it seven
years in a row.
Western Bluebirds have only been regular on the property since 2014 and we
recorded 39 (one more than last year). We missed Oak Titmouse, a species
that is surprisingly uncommon on the property. We found seven Tree
Swallows, an above-average 214 Bushtits, 78 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, but
missed Golden-crowned Kinglets, found 14 Cedar Waxwings (missed most
years), seven American Robins (missable), and missed Varied Thrush.
Sparrow numbers were mostly below average, but two White-throated Sparrows
were a nice surprise (https://ebird.org/checklist/S291081432). Ten
Orange-crowned Warblers was a good total, though Myrtle Yellow-rumped
Warblers were surprisingly scarce at only four. Audubon’s/unspecified
(presumed Audubon’s) Yellow-rumpeds were reasonably abundant at nearly 300.
A brief aside about species totals and probabilities… Over 30 years, we
have recorded 166 species, and yet the range of species found on a given
count has been between 90 and 120, and 100 to 120 since 2000. There are
only 53 species we have recorded every time, eleven that we have recorded
29 out of 30 times, and five more that we have recorded 28 out of 30 times.
That means that there is considerable variability among the species making
up the totals, yet some stability in the total number of species found each
year. Once we first passed the 100-species threshold in 1999 (with 104), it
seemed unlikely that we would ever fall below it again. And yet, without
quite a few good finds, we could have been in the low 90s. A short list
(14) of very missable species we found include Cinnamon Teal, Common
Merganser, Long-billed Curlew, Dunlin, Western Sandpiper, Bald Eagle,
Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, Acorn Woodpecker, Red-breasted Sapsucker,
Loggerhead Shrike, Tree Swallow, Cedar Waxwing, and White-throated Sparrow.
Somewhat surprising misses included any *Aythya *species diving duck
besides Ring-necked Duck, Ruddy Duck, Ring-necked Pheasant (may be on its
way out regionally), any gull other than the one California Gull we found,
Sharp-shinned Hawk, Great-tailed Grackles, any uncommon wintering
warbler—actually not that many compared to the number of decent pickups.
Thanks to everyone who participated. This 30-year dataset provides a
valuable snapshot of our wintering bird population and is part of the CBC
and Bufferlands tradition. We’ll see what next year brings!
Date: 2/28/26 8:21 pm From: Chris Conard via groups.io <conardc...> Subject: [centralvalleybirds] Folsom CBC summary 4 Jan 2026
Hi folks,
We ran the 47th Folsom Christmas Bird Count on 4 Jan 2026 in what were the worst conditions in the more than 20 years I have been involved with the count. Last year, we complained about a half day of rain. This year, we had 1.3 inches of rain (all day), with considerable wind. It is a credit to the dedication of our area leaders and counters that we had 63 people in 31 parties for a total of 161.75 party hours (compared to 196 party hours last year). We barely topped our lowest ever species total, with 124, within a historical range of 123 to 149, and we had a total of 36,153 birds. Last year, at 136, was the first time we had fallen below 140 species since 2012. I honestly thought the 120s were well in our past, but without a few key pickups, we could have been in the one-teens.
We spotted some geese that are missable for this count (Snow and Greater White-fronts), missed Cackling and Tundra Swans (increasingly absent), and had 48 invasive Mute Swans. Duck numbers and diversity were really low. Barrow's Goldeneyes have been scarce the last three years, and we only found two. Wild Turkeys, at 260, were up slightly, but for several years have been half or less than the 500-800 on counts from 15 to 20 years ago. Grebe numbers were quite low, and we had seven Common Loons, but no uncommons. Shorebirds were scarce and we found only one Greater Yellowlegs. Among over 14,000 gulls--the vast majority were Californias. Of the less common species, we had two Short-billed (Mew) Gulls, three Iceland (Thayer's) Gulls, and three Glaucous-winged Gulls.
We found two Osprey, missed Golden Eagle, had 14 Bald Eagles (trying not to double count), four Ferruginous Hawks, and one Rough-legged Hawk. We found four Merlins, missed Prairie Falcons, and spotted two Peregrine Falcons. We had one Barn Owl and one Burrowing Owl, but missed Western Screech-Owl. Only four Great Horned Owls were found for the second year in a row.
After last year's record of 466 White-throated Swifts, we nearly missed them--surely weather-related--finding just two. Three Lewis's Woodpeckers and four Hairy Woodpeckers were good pickups. We missed Loggerhead Shrike and found just two Hutton's Vireos. We missed Steller's Jay, but had an impressive 80 Yellow-billed Magpies after only 13 last year. We missed swallows, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Marsh Wren, Varied Thrush, and Common Yellowthroat to name a few. We found a Hastings-worth, 1066, Bushtits (way up from last year), 959 American Robins (way up), 756 Western Bluebirds (slightly up), 516 Oak Titmouses (slightly down), and 629 Lesser Goldfinches (steady). Two parties reported a total of 16 Lawrence's Goldfinches, accounting for perhaps the only really good finds of the day.
Grassland species in particular were way down in the terrible conditions. We missed Horned Lark, had only 19 American Pipits, and missed Tricolored Blackbirds. Sparrows in general were down, but a single Chipping Sparrow was a good save.
Thanks to all of the participants and especially the area leaders! To repeat last year's refrain, let's hope for better conditions next year!
Date: 2/15/26 10:12 am From: Sally M. Walters via groups.io <bajaowl...> Subject: [centralvalleybirds] Barrows goldeneye
Yesterday at dusk : an adult male Barrows down the trail from Paradise Beach at Glen Hall Park. Full half-moon patch between eye and bill. Smaller rectangular white patches than larger patches of the common. It was among 20 some female types. Flew downstream.
Date: 2/9/26 7:48 pm From: Glennah Trochet via groups.io <trochetj...> Subject: [centralvalleybirds] continuing orchard oriole; a couple of goodies behind locked gates at Cosumnes last week
Dear Birders
A few bitter-enders managed brief looks at the male orchard oriole in Courtland late this afternoon. Apparently better looks were had early this morning. Lesser decent finds in the same patch of bottlebrush were a white-throated sparrow and a hooded oriole.
At the Cosumnes River Preserve I had a yellow warbler on my monthly survey of Lost Slough on February 1st. This past Saturday I found what is likely to be the same stilt sandpiper seen at intervals this winter along Desmond Road that day with dowitchers east of the Love Shack north of the Tall Forest. The same day, I was able for the first time since the flooding to wade out the east side of the forest to look at the bald eagle nest. The female is already sitting.
