As is often the case in August, Yolo County shorebirds stole the show. Songbird migration was generally slow, but a few unexpected finds made things more interesting. Unusual summering ducks continued at the Woodland WTP. These included up to eight Canvasbacks, up to 18 Redheads, and up to two Buffleheads--with one Bufflehead also at Sailor Bar along the American River Parkway. Amazingly, the female Costa's Hummingbird first found at a private yard in Wilton on 8/14 (and likely before) has continued for more than a year. There were just two reports of Calliope Hummingbirds: one from Fair Oaks on 8/12 and one from Natomas on 8/31.
Among the shorebird highlights was a Snowy Plover found at Folsom Lake, Beals Pt, on 8/2, and Marbled Godwits were reported throughout the month from the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area (YBWA), Davis Wetlands, and the Woodland WTP--the high count was 13 at the Davis Wetlands. There were multiple Solitary Sandpiper reports in Yolo County, and one during the last week of the month at the EchoWater Facility (Sacramento Regional WTP). A Stilt Sandpiper (eBird Checklist S270761556) was reported at YBWA from 8/30 into September. Baird's and Pectoral Sandpipers were reported from multiple Yolo County shorebird spots, with one each at the Anatolia Vernal Pool Preserve in Sacramento County during the last week of the month. The bird of the month was the region's second-ever Little Stint. It was found, carefully studied, and photographed from 8/22-8/27 (eBird Checklist S269015910 and eBird Checklist S269115892). Small numbers of Semipalmated Sandpipers were found among the many Least and Western Sandpipers in Yolo County throughout the month, with singles at the Lincoln WTP and the EchoWater Facility. It is interesting to look back and consider that this was thought to be a quite rare species in our region as recently as 30 years ago. Improved optics and digital photography, along with knowing what to look for has made a huge difference. Single juvenile Franklin's Gulls were found at Beals Pt, Folsom Lake, from 8/13-8/14 (eBird Checklist S267097301), and at YBWA from 8/19-8/30. The Neotropic Cormorant found at Lagoon Valley Park on 7/28 continued through mid-month.
There was an early movement of Lewis's Woodpeckers, with singles reported in Folsom, Latrobe Rd, and Babel Slough--all on 8/31. A Gray Flycatcher was a nice find at Gibson Ranch County Park on 8/17. There were scattered reports of Yellow-breasted Chats from local hotspots and a Tennessee Warbler was an excellent find (eBird Checklist S270487874) at Audubon Bobcat Ranch from 8/28-8/29. A Summer Tanager was found on 8/17 in Folsom along Willow Creek, and a female-type grosbeak visiting a feeder on 8/31 in Fair Oaks was photographed (eBird Checklist S271510272) and appears to be a Rose-breasted Grosbeak.
The Sacramento Area as covered here lies between Hwy 20 to the north, Hwy 12 to the south, and the 1000-foot contour to the east and west, plus all of Sacramento and Yolo counties. Many reports first appeared on the Central Valley Bird Club listserv (groups.io/g/centralvalleybirds) and in eBird (ebird.org). It is impossible to list everyone, but we thank the following for their reports: Steve Abbott, Peyton Bounds, Lyann Comrack, Chris Dong, Konshau Duman, Lynette Williams Duman, Gil Ewing, Joshua Greenfield, Kevin Guse, Cliff Hawley, Mackenzie Hollender, Marcel Holyoak, Emmett Iverson, Eric Johnson, Julian Johnson, Adam Kucharek, Jeri Langham, Andrew Lee, Mark Martucci, Michael Perrone, Zane Pickus, Linda Pittman, Ron Pozzi, Mark Sawyer, Samuel Schmidt, Steve Scott, Sean Smith, Elliott Steinfels, Kevin Thomas, and John Trochet. Thanks to everyone for their reports--without them, this column would not be possible.