March 2026 was almost completely dry, with many sunny, unseasonably warm days more typical of June than March. That made for a lot of nice days in the field, but is distressing in terms of what it means for the regional availability of water as the season progresses. In terms of waterfowl, a Brant (eBird Checklist S306252048) made it inland as far as Grizzly Island Wildlife Area, south of Fairfield, on 3/4. A male Blue-winged Teal x Northern Shoveler hybrid (eBird Checklist S314929658) was a nice surprise at Bridgeway Island Pond in West Sacramento on 3/29. On 3/7 at Cosumnes River Preserve (CRP), a Gadwall x Mallard ("Brewer's Duck") was a nice find, as was a Eurasian Green-winged Teal. A Band-tailed Pigeon found on 3/27 (eBird Checklist S313803638) at Blue Oak Park in Natomas is notable for a species rarely encountered on the flats of the Valley. A Greater Roadrunner continued along Yolo County Rd 81 off of Hwy 16 in the Capay Valley, and a Common Poorwill was recorded singing at Deer Creek Hills on 3/19. A male Costa's Hummingbird was seen for much of the month on the west side of Lodi. Calliope Hummingbirds were found in the last few days of the month, with reports from a private yard southwest of Clarksburg, Fair Oaks (eBird Checklist S314160303), and north of Camanche Reservoir; two Allen's Hummingbirds were found at the same private yard southwest of Clarksburg on 3/19.
Notable shorebirds were in short supply, but a Ruff was found at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area on 3/28, and another continued from 2/28 through the end of the month at CRP. A first-year Glaucous Gull was found on 3/1 near the landfill at Hay Rd, south of Dixon, along Hwy 113. Probably the same two Red-throated Loons last reported on Folsom Lake on 2/20 were seen from Beals Pt at the end of the month. A Least Bittern was singing and occasionally seen (eBird Checklist S315267467) at Gibson Ranch from 3/29 into April; another was reported at the Davis Wetlands on 3/2. The first report of the year of the Yellow-crowned Night Heron at the North Natomas Regional Park rookery was on 3/28. Assuming it's the same individual, this is the fourth year it has been seen at this location. When first found in 2023, it was just the second Sacramento Area record and the first to be readily seen by many observers.
The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker found at Gibson Ranch County Park on 1/26 continued through 3/10, and one of the two Tropical Kingbirds found earlier this winter at Bridgeway Lakes Community Park in West Sacramento continued through at least 3/11. A Hammond's Flycatcher was on the early side at the Clarksburg Branch Line Trail in West Sacramento on 3/28. Several other first-of-year reports came in late March, including Cassin's Vireo, Purple Martin, Wilson's Warbler, and Black-headed Grosbeak. The Sage Thrasher found along Rd 104 at the Solano/Yolo County line on 2/12 and was seen by many through 3/1. Singing Grasshopper Sparrows were a nice early surprise (eBird Checklist S313684884) at Yolo County Rds 105 and 38A beginning on 3/15, with up to four reported through the end of the month. A Brewer's Sparrow was surprisingly early on 3/23 at Rancho Seco Park, and a Swamp Sparrow was a nice find at Shag Slough, southern Yolo County, on 3/8. The male Orchard Oriole found in Courtland on 2/7 was last reported on 3/23, and the Summer Tanager that has wintered in Land Park since early 2022 continued along the edge of the Sacramento Zoo.
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: Dan Airola, Joseph Atkinson, Roopak Bhatt, Peyton Bounds, Lyann Comrack, Lisa Couper, Chris Dong, Konshau Duman, Lynette Williams Duman, Anis Ehsani, Gil Ewing, Cliff Feldheim, Stephen Fettig, Joshua Greenfield, Cliff Hawley, Lucy Higginbotham, Mackenzie Hollender, Emmett Iverson, Julian Johnson, Jeri Langham, Andrew Lee, Dan Kopp, Manfred Kusch, Mark Martucci, Ethan Matsuyama, Eric McKinley, Roger Muskat, Zane Pickus, Ron Pozzi, Patricia Rosa, Samuel Schmidt, Steve Scott, Sean Smith, Gavin Stacey, Kirk Swenson, Kevin Thomas, John Trochet, Tom Uslan, Eric VerSteeg, Christina White, and Dan Williams. Thanks to everyone for their reports--without them, this column would not be possible.