Date: 1/28/25 5:20 pm From: Denise and David Hamilton via groups.io <2napabirders...> Subject: [centralvalleybirds] Winged Migration Expo, Mare Island, Vallejo, Sat. Feb 1 & Sun. Feb 2
Hi all,
On behalf of Napa-Solano Audubon, one of the many sponsors, I'd like to invite you to the Winged Migration Expo to be held this coming Saturday and Sunday - Feb. 1 & 2. Please check out the website - lots of great speakers and activities for kids, birdwalks, and all sorts of exhibitors relating to birds and the environment.
The Mission of the Planning Committee is "to continue the environmental education legacy of the North Bay and to celebrate its birds within the natural world. Support our community through knowledge preservation of the Pacific Flyway in California."
Please join us! Denise Hamilton Napa
ommunity through knowledge preservation of the Pacific Flyway in California.
Date: 1/27/25 10:48 am From: Sally M. Walters via groups.io <bajaowl...> Subject: [centralvalleybirds] Golden eagle
Feb 22, Wednesday. While hiking from El Manto, parking area along Am River...
Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) 1 Adult. Soaring with TV's, but much larger. It was close enough to see the body all dark except for golden vent and tarsi and fine white stripes on the dark brown tail—the unexpected highlight of the day.
CHECKLIST S210302115
American River--El Manto Dr., Sacramento, California, US
Jan 22, 2025 10:45 AM - 1:02 PM
Protocol: Traveling
1.835 mile(s)
21 species
Date: 1/23/25 3:56 pm From: Michael Perrone via groups.io <michaelperrone10...> Subject: [centralvalleybirds] bushtit nesting
Yesterday, January 22, we found a completed bushtit nest with an attendant pair in a live oak in the campground just below Monticello Dam in Yolo County.
I am pretty sure this is easily the earliest-in-the-season bushtit nest I have seen locally or anywhere else. However, the warm afternoons have felt like it was March for weeks now, and redbud shrubs at the same spot were showing their first flowers. So maybe the birds are just responding to appropriate weather.
Michael PerroneDavis
Date: 1/14/25 9:41 am From: Chris Conard via groups.io <conardc...> Subject: [centralvalleybirds] Bufferlands portion of the Rio Cosumnes CBC on 2 Jan 2025
Hi folks,
Many thanks to new compiler, Zane Pickus, for keeping the Rio Cosumnes CBC
going and to Andy Engilis for getting it going 30 years ago!!
I prepare a summary for Bufferlands voluteers and staff and thought this
might be of wider interest.
On Thursday, January 2, 2025, a total of 17 counters, made up of
Bufferlands staff and volunteers, participated in the 29th annual Rio
Cosumnes Christmas Bird Count (CBC). The weather was about perfect for this
time of year. It was between 43-60F, sunny all day, with periods of thin
clouds filtering the sun, and there was only a light breeze. We had five
teams in the field and good access except for flooding at Upper Beach Lake
(water level at ~3.4 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 Cosumnes River Preserve, Stone Lakes National Wildlife Refuge,
western Elk Grove, northwestern Galt, and a portion of Merritt Island in
Yolo County.
We recorded 107 species on the Bufferlands, within a historical range of 90
to 120, and counted 27,842 individual birds, within a historical range of
7,723 to 811,644. This year we added a new species (Blue-gray Gnatcatcher <
https://ebird.org/checklist/S207680674>) to our cumulative total, now at
166 species, recorded on the Bufferlands portion of the count in 29 years.
Oddly, the number of individual birds is a couple hundred more than the
Folsom CBC recorded. As impressive as that is, ~10,000 were starlings and,
even worse, 2,000 were cowbirds at the Bufferlands/WTP.
Starting with waterfowl, numbers and diversity were below average. We did
well with geese and swans, including 32 flyover Snow Geese, three Ross’s
(recorded for just the fifth time), and 1493 Greater White-fronted Geese,
many not just flyovers, but apparently spending the night on the property.
We missed Cackling Geese, had 316 Canada Geese, and 21 flyover Tundra
Swans. We found four invasive Mute Swans just like last year. Duck numbers
and diversity were disappointing. We missed Canvasback, one of our mascot
species, for the just the second time—but for the second time in a row,
completely missing the species on the Bufferlands in 2024. We had only 143
Ring-necked Ducks and one Ruddy Duck. Dabbling duck numbers were also on
the low side and with no surprises. And we found 14 Hooded Mergansers and
two Common Mergansers; the latter we have missed more often than not in
recent years, while Hoodies have become a staple since 2006.
Two Wild Turkeys found in 2003 were the first recorded on our portion of
the count, but they have rapidly increased, continuing at high levels this
year with an impressive 376 [more than double what were recorded on the
whole Folsom CBC, where they seem to be declining]—our highest count was
487 in 2019. Ring-necked Pheasants remain at very low numbers, in keeping
with regional declines, and we found only two. Prior to 2003, we expected
at least 100 on count day. We found 20 California Quail—a species that can
be missed. We have a lot of Mourning Doves, and recorded 537, as well as
four Eurasian Collared-Doves.
A single Virginia Rail and two Soras were detected. We missed and no longer
expect to find Common Gallinules on the property. We would record over 100
in the 1990s, 33 as recently as 2005, but no more than one since 2012.
Sandhill Cranes have become regular for more than a decade, and this time
we recorded 132, doing our best to avoid double-counting with flyover
birds, birds on the ground, and five parties counting in the field.
Among shorebirds, the highlight was an impressive 12 Spotted Sandpipers all
in the SSBs (sewer ponds)—in ones and twos all over the SSBs. A single
Western Sandpiper was an excellent find of a species recorded for just the
fifth time, but for the fourth year in a row. Two Dunlin were around
earlier in the week, but we missed them on count day. We also missed
Black-bellied Plovers as we have every year since 2010; gone are the days
when we could find up to 1,000 roosting in the SSBs on sunny afternoons.
Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons were in good numbers, and an American
Bittern was the last new bird of the day.
While there is a slight tone of disappointment to much of what has been
written above, raptor numbers were very good. Sunny days are often good for
raptors, but we have also been seeing good numbers this fall and winter. We
recorded a Swainson’s Hawk < https://ebird.org/checklist/S207752670> on the
Bufferlands portion of the count for just the fifth time, and for the first
time in many years. White-tailed Kites, at 11, and Northern Harriers, at
16, rebounded from last year’s near-record lows. At 56, we had the best
Red-tailed Hawk count since 2007. After what appeared to be a good breeding
season, we found only two Barn Owls. Seven Great Horned Owls was about
average, while seven Burrowing Owls was our second best total since the
1990s. We found 23 American Kestrels (slightly above average), and two
Merlins, but missed both of the larger falcon species.
Yellow-billed Magpies and Loggerhead Shrikes have declined since 2005 when
West Nile virus arrived in our area, and we found 20 magpies and just one
shrike. Western Bluebirds have only been regular on the property since 2014
and we recorded 38. We nearly missed American Robin, finding one late in
the day, but did miss Varied Thrush—a species with highly variable local
abundance. We eked out two Golden-crowned Kinglets—both singles among
different Bushtit flocks, which were above average at 281. Ruby-crowned
Kinglets were slightly above average at 105. Sparrow numbers were mostly
below average, with Savannah Sparrows rebounding to 152 after last year’s
dismal 42. White-crowneds, at 293, were a little thin, but Golden-crowned
Sparrows, at 68, were well under half of their historical average. Song
Sparrows, at 20, Lincoln’s Sparrow’s, at 9, and Fox Sparrows, at 6, were
also well under half of their historical averages. California Towhees, once
only found along a remnant railroad levee west of I-5, are becoming more
widely established on the property. Five individuals accounted for three
locations, two of which are fairly new. We couldn’t find the Townsend’s
Warbler seen on New Year’s Eve, but did have seven Orange-crowned Warblers.
Myrtle Yellow-rumped Warblers, at only five, were way down along the
poison-oak-berry-laden Laguna Creek, where they are sometimes found in the
dozens. Audubon’s Yellow-rumpeds were reasonably abundant.
Our results provide a snapshot of the winter bird population, within the
context of several ongoing trends. Some of these trends reflect changes in
abundance of individual species, but more reflect wider habitat
relationships affecting suites of species with categories such as
“grassland birds” or “marsh birds.” Although any one day’s results can be
over-interpreted, this CBC’s findings are generally consistent with
regional trends, changes in local land use, or maturing of habitats on the
Bufferlands itself.
Date: 1/14/25 8:44 am From: ed pandolfino via groups.io <erpfromca...> Subject: [centralvalleybirds] Lincoln CBC Dec 26
The 65 hearty participantsin this year’s Lincoln count (the 22nd) had to deal with cold windsand grey skies all day long and the results reflected that. We posted a new lowfor total species of 127 (128 count week) compared to our average of 135.
We added one new speciesfor the count, a long overdue Chipping Sparrow found by Ted Beedy. We had a“near miss” on a likely Long-eared Owl seen briefly in flight by Cliff Hawley butnot included in our total. Lesser Yellowlegs was found for only the 7thtime and Sandhill Cranes for only the 10th time. Given the conditions,managing to find foraging White-throated Swifts (in two locations) and TreeSwallows (in one) was unexpected. Our total of 251 Green-winged Teal was theonly significant new “high” for us.
There were plenty of“misses” and new lows. Our inability to find Brown Creepers and Golden-crownedKinglets was understandable, given the conditions, but missing Common Goldeneyefor the first time was a shock. We also missed Canvasback for only the 3rdtime. We missed Rough-legged Hawk and Golden Eagle, species we get about halfthe time on this count. Our only Eurasian Wigeon was a count week bird and the8th time we missed it on count day.
New low totals includedAmerican Pipit, Hermit Thrush, American Robin, Fox, Lincoln’s, andGolden-crowned Sparrows. We recorded only two Ring-necked Pheasants, a speciesthat persists only because of regular releases of captive-raised birds. The lownumbers of American Robins is something I have observed (anecdotally) thiswinter throughout the area. I think this species is more “irruptive” in winterthan is generally realized, with large numbers some winters, and few in others.It would be interesting to know how many (if any) of our breeding robins stayaround for the winter.
Ed PandolfinoSacramento
Date: 1/14/25 5:21 am From: Chris Conard via groups.io <conardc...> Subject: [centralvalleybirds] Folsom CBC summary 29 Dec 2024
Hi folks,
We ran the 46th Folsom Christmas Bird Count on 29 December 2024. It rained during the first half of the day and was windy all day. Yet, we had 68 people in 33 parties, covering 348 miles (140 on foot--a little farther than last year in much better conditions!) in 196 party hours. We ended up with 136 species, within a historical range of 123 to 149, and a total of 27,657 birds. This is the first time we fell below 140 species since 2012. Given the conditions, things were quite slow and highlights were few, but at the compilation gathering nobody said they would have rather stayed home.
We found geese that are missable on this count (Greater White-fronts and Cackling), missed Tundra Swans, and had 45 invasive Mute Swans. Duck numbers and diversity were quite low. One Northern Pintail saved us from missing that species, and typical divers were only represented by Ring-necked Ducks (59). Having more Buffleheads (180) than Common Goldeneyes (167) is a surprise. Barrow's Goldeneyes have been scarce the last two years, and we only picked up three.
Wild Turkeys, at 175, continue for several years now to be at a fraction of the 500-800 on counts from 15 to 20 years ago. We had 131 Horned Grebes, only 62 Eared, 232 Westerns, but only 15 identified as Clark's Grebes. All of our rails came from a single pond, with five Virginia Rails and just one Sora. Shorebirds were more sparse than usual, and we nearly missed Wilson's Snipe (only three). Among just over 6,800 total gulls--85% were Californias--we had one Short-billed (Mew) Gull, two Iceland (Thayer's) Gulls, and three Glaucous-winged Gulls. We found one Pacific Loon and only four Common Loons, turned up only one Green Heron, and missed Black-crowned Night-Heron.
For raptors, we found one Osprey, one Golden Eagle, 11 Bald Eagles (trying not to double count), four Ferruginous Hawks, and one Rough-legged Hawk. We found three Merlins, two Prairie Falcons, and three Peregrine Falcons. We had one Barn Owl, one Burrowing Owl, missed Western Screech-Owl (count week), and found one Northern Pygmy-Owl. The weather kept us to just four Great Horned Owls despite two parties owling.
We tallied 234 Anna's Hummingbirds and set a new count record of 466 White-throated Swifts--most of the swifts were recorded toward the end of the day, shortly before they went to roost, and when the weather had improved. Only ten Lewis's Woodpeckers and one Hairy Woodpecker were found.
Loggerhead Shrikes were back on the list, with two, though we found just three Hutton's Vireos. We missed Steller's Jay and had a dismal 13 Yellow-billed Magpies. Hard to fathom, but we recorded (trying to avoid double-counting) more ravens than crows: 83 to 78. No swallows were detected, but three Golden-crowned Kinglets and six Marsh Wrens were nice pickups. A Varied Thrush was a surprise in a season where this species is hard to come by. American Robins were light at only 282--less than a quarter of what we found last year. More encouraging were 677 Western Bluebirds, 607 Oak Titmouses, and 646 Lesser Goldfinches.
We had just ten Purple Finches, and a single Pine Siskin was a nice find. Three Chipping Sparrows were found, and also one Bell's Sparrow. Fox Sparrows were scarce, with just ten, but one was a Red Fox Sparrow. Sparrows in general were down, partly weather-related, but Fox Sparrows have been in low numbers for two years in a row, and Golden-crowned Sparrows have been in lower than expected numbers this season. Western Meadowlarks, surprisingly, were up substantially from last year to 568. We didn't miss Tricolored Blackbirds this year, tallying 15. We recorded six Orange-crowned Warblers, a species much harder to come by around Folsom than on the Sacramento or Rio Cosumnes CBCs, but we did miss Common Yellowthroat and any other warbler besides Yellow-rumped.
Thanks to all of the participants and especially the area leaders! Let's hope for better conditions next year.
Date: 1/13/25 9:41 am From: Lisa Myers via groups.io <lisa...> Subject: [centralvalleybirds] Panoche Valley Sunday Jan. 12
A group of friends birded Panoche Valley yesterday entering from 1-5. We
found *LOGGERHEAD SHRIKES* throughout our weekend including along the
stretch before we hit the reservoir. We also had great views of our
first of several *GOLDEN EAGLES* as it perched on the cliff face above
the road. And just before reaching the reservoir we found two *SAGE
THRASHERS* on the north side of the road.
Flocks of *HORNED LARKS* were everywhere throughout.
Scoping the reservoir is a stretch but we added *CANVASBACK*, and
*RING-NECKED DUCKS* just to mention a few birds on the water. While we
dipped on Vesper Sparrows and the Lark Bunting reported on Saturday, we
did have *WHITE-CROWNED, LARK* & *SAVANNAH SPARROWS *throughout our
day*. *A pair of*ROCK WRENS *were also observed.*
*
We had two *GREATER ROADRUNNERS*. The most cooperative was walking
through the dirt lot as we drove out of the west end of Shotgun Pass. As
we scanned the fields opposite the solar farm we found more *WESTERN
MEADOWLARKS*, and both a *BALD EAGLE* and *FERRUGINOUS HAWK* sitting on
the ground. And finally a flock of *MOUNTAIN PLOVER* were observed way
off to the west of Little Panoche Road.
We found no definitive Prairie Falcons, but had one male *MERLIN*,**a
few*AMERICAN KESTRELS*, *& NORTHERN HARRIERS* and loads of *RED-TAILED
HAWKS*.
We did not add much to our list when we headed up Recalde Road so we
turned around and headed home. We were losing sunlight, but before we
hit 25 we added *YELLOW-BILLED MAGPIE*, and *ACORN WOODPECKER*. We also
stopped for a beautiful *BOBCAT*. It eventually disappeared into the
brush and then *CALIFORNIA QUAIL* and two *CALIFORNIA THRASHERS*
appeared in the same location. We also observed a Wild Boar running in
the distance.
A juvenile BALD EAGLE was at the Paicines Reservoir in addition to
*AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS, & COMMON MERGANZERS *to name a few.**
Another in our group is finalizing the eBird reports and will post shortly.
Lisa Myers
Campbell
P.S. We did not find Mountain Bluebirds or Phainopepla on Sunday, but
had them both on Saturday when we birded *Lake Yosemite County Park*
located next to UC Merced. We also had Prairie Falcon here.
Date: 1/11/25 9:29 pm From: Matthew Dodder via groups.io <mdodder...> Subject: [centralvalleybirds] Panoche Valley area today
I led a group from Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance on a one-way tour through the Panoche Valley beginning from Hwy 5 today. There were many highlights and a full report with checklists will be posted on eBird soon but perhaps the best sightings were these:
Lark Bunting at the locked gate to the BLM road here: 36.712452, -120.862514
Mountain Plover (18) seen looking east from the corner of Recalde Road and Dan Berg Road here: 36.602374, -120.817109
Two Greater Roadrunners were seen along Panoche Road between the BLM lands and Shotgun Pass. We also saw 4-5 Ferruginous Hawks near the junction of Panoche Road and Little Panoche Road. Prairie Falcons were seen in various locations, but it was hard to tell how many individuals. No Vesper Sparrows or Mountain Bluebirds were located by our group, but there were countless numbers of Horned Larks, Lark Sparrows, and Savannah Sparrows.
Sorry for the abbreviated report, but I wanted to let folks know about the Lark Bunting and Mountain Plovers in particular. More details and photos will be posted on eBird soon.
All the best,
Matthew
Matthew Dodder (he/him)
Executive Director
Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance
22221 McClellan Rd.
Cupertino, CA 95014
408-252-3748
<director...>
scvbirdalliance.org
Date: 1/7/25 7:07 pm From: Clifford Hawley via groups.io <yellowhammerCA...> Subject: [centralvalleybirds] CVBC Youth Scholarships- now accepting applications for Summer 2025 Camps
Hi Central Valley birders,
We are happy to announce that the Central Valley Bird Club is now accepting
applications for the David Yee Youth Scholarships which covers up to $2,000
of the tuition and camp fees for birding camps during the Summer 2025 camp
season. If you are a young birder 12-18 years old check out this great
opportunity. If you know a young birder that needs a scholarship to camp,
please pass along this information.
Thanks to the generous support of our members as well as contributions from
Yolo, Altacal, Sacramento, and Sierra Foothills Audubon Societies we've
been able to send a lot of kids to camp over the years.
Applications are due to me by February 15th, 2025. If you have any
questions, please contact me.
If you aren’t a young birder but you’d like to support the scholarship fund
please visit our website and use the red donate button in the upper right.
CVBirds.org
Thanks and good birding,
Cliff Hawley
Youth Scholarship Coordinator
Sacramento, CA
--
Clifford Hawley
Sacramento, CA
(916)300-2495
"For, what are the voices of birds...
But words, our words,
Only so much more sweet?"
Robert Browning
Date: 1/1/25 11:08 pm From: Putah Creek CBC Compiler - Wickel via groups.io <yoloauduboncapc...> Subject: [centralvalleybirds] Putah Creek CBC 2024 Summary
Putah Creek CBC 2024 Summary
Bart Wickel - Davis, CA
The 54th edition of the Putah Creek Annual Christmas Bird Count, supported
by the Yolo Bird Alliance (formerly Yolo Audubon) was held on December 15,
2024. This count has been held every year since 1971. This year all count
results were entered in eBird. Our count circle with a diameter of 15 miles is
centered on the bridge at Lake Solano, and covers parts of Yolo, Solano and
Napa County.
This year we had a record breaking participation with 102
participants. Participants
were distributed over 10 areas with 40 teams and led by experienced
birders.
Weather: Parts of the count circle were covered in fog at the beginning of
the day and clear skies at higher elevations. Conditions on the count day
were pleasant with temperatures ranging from 36 to 52 degrees, partial high
cloud cover and with low winds from the NE (up to 9 mph).
Highlights: This year we tied with the 2001 record of 147 species. By far
the most stunning bird was a Cassin's Kingbird, found by the team in Area
6. We also had our first Thayer’s Gull.
High counts: Cackling Goose (35), California Quail (998), Say's Phoebes
(99), Lewis’s Woodpecker (226), Horned Lark (1119), Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
(17), Sora (17), Great Horned Owl (156).
West-Nile Virus recovery: After a decade of constant decline numbers of
Yellow-billed Magpie (153) and Loggerhead Shrike (26) are finally coming
back with both species close to a doubling in numbers over 2023. Both
species were heavily affected by the West Nile Virus in the past.
Fire recovery: While observing the impacts of the LNU Lightning Complex
mega-fire, which burned approximately 60% of the count circle in August
2020, we continue to see sustained low numbers of Canyon Wrens (1),
California Thrashers (3). Wrentits (47) however seem to be making their
continued comeback at higher elevations compared with 11 in 2021, 16 in
2022 and 25 in 2023. Another species that was absent from the count circle
after the fires until last year, when the first one was seen again, was the
Pileated Woodpecker (4).
Waterfowl: Waterfowl numbers continued to be low, likely due to the mild
conditions farther north. Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser
Scaup, American Wigeon, Common Merganser, Ruddy Duck, American Coot
continued at historically low numbers. We did observe record numbers of
Mallard (308) though.
Owling: Historically our count circle has led the nation in record high
numbers for Great-horned Owls during CBCs. Given concerns about potential
double counting, we are following a rigorously laid out protocol that makes
sure this doesn’t happen. This year we continued shattering our previous
all time records of Great-horned Owls (156). Unlike the past year when we
saw record numbers of Barn Owls and Western Screech-Owls this year we did
not come close at all. One explanation could be the rain in the past days
which resulted in the creeks of Gates, Mix and other canyons flowing at
full force and producing a lot of noise, muting calls. Another explanation
could be that during full moon many Owl species tend to vocalize less.
Our eBird TRIP REPORT <https://ebird.org/tripreport/303666#> with 193
checklists for the day provides a more detailed overview of the species
that were counted. Note that some species counts have been adjusted in the
final compilation due to overlapping observations by different areas. As a
result the numbers on eBird differ from the final tally submitted to the
Audubon CBC portal.
