This December was beset by many grim days of fog and cooler than normal temperatures. It seemed to suppress bird activity, certainly visibility, and suppressed birder activity as well. There were still some good finds during the month, but many of the local CBCs took place in difficult weather conditions, leading to low numbers and diversity. A Red-breasted Merganser was seen periodically from 12/7 to 12/17 between the Nimbus Hatchery and lower Lake Natoma. The female Costa's Hummingbird first found at a private yard in Wilton in August of 2024 continued through 12/25, but was not seen toward the end of the month--is her long residency over? A Black Rail was heard calling on 12/28 from Sherman Island in the Delta portion of Sacramento County.
The only Mountain Plovers in the region continued to be reported from Flannery Rd, south of Dixon, with a high of 45. A Stilt Sandpiper was photographed (eBird Checklist S289401316) and seen by several birders on 12/20 at Cosumnes River Preserve. It may be the same bird that has been seen in the area sporadically since September. Probably the same Lesser Black-backed Gull that has been reported in recent months was seen on 12/1 at the Yolo County Central Landfill pond, visible from County Rd 28H. A Red-necked Grebe was a nice surprise at the Port of Sacramento, Lake Washington, from 12/10-12/14. A Least Bittern was heard at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area on 12/15 and three were detected at Sherman Island on 12/28.
Rough-legged Hawks were more widely reported, especially in eastern Sacramento County, than in most recent years, and Short-eared Owls were also well-represented, most impressively with reports of up to 11 along Meiss Rd.
Lewis's Woodpeckers were found on both sides of the Valley, but reports were of singles or low single-digits, and a Red-naped Sapucker was found along Pleasants Valley Rd (eBird Checklist S289602481), a few miles south of Putah Creek on 12/21. CBC teams found single Hammond's Flycatchers on private property along Putah Creek, south of Winters, on 12/21, and along the Mokelumne River near I-5 on 12/29. An American Dipper continued at the traditional location along Putah Creek at the Hwy 128 bridge. Like Lewis's Woodpeckers, Varied Thrushes were few and far between. A calling flyover Evening Grosbeak on 12/3 was a surprise at Cosumnes River Preserve in a season with very little winter finch movement. A Lapland Longspur was a nice find along Flannery Rd in Solano County on 12/16. A Swamp Sparrow was photographed on 12/28 at a normally closed area of south Twitchell Island, Sacramento County. Another was present for most of the month at Lake Solano. A Nashville Warbler was quite a surprise (eBird Checklist S290618684) at Elkhorn Regional Park on the Yolo side of the Sacramento River on 12/27, and a Pine Warbler found near Larchmont Park (eBird Checklist S288066313) on the ARNHA Wildlife Count, and seen by many from 12/6-12/10, was a first of the Central Valley and one of few records for Northern California.
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: Eddie Bartley, Sylvia Bauer, Peyton Bounds, Brent Campos, Lyann Comrack, Chris Dong, Konshau Duman, Chris Dunford, Lynette Williams Duman, Andy Engilis, Gil Ewing, Stephen Fettig, Robert Furrow, Joshua Greenfield, Cliff Hawley, Mackenzie Hollender, Emmett Iverson, Julian Johnson, Logan Kahle, Jeri Langham, Andrew Lee, Mark Martucci, Eric McKinley, Roger Muskat, Michael Perrone, Zane Pickus, Linda Pittman, Ron Pozzi, Mark Sawyer, Samuel Schmidt, Steve Scott, Sean Smith, Gavin Stacey, Lucas Stephenson, Mark Stephenson, Kirk Swenson, Kevin Thomas, John Trochet, Noreen Weeden, and Dan Williams. Thanks to everyone for their reports--without them, this column would not be possible.