May starts in spring but despite the official seasonal designation, it has a summertime feel by the end. The last lingering wintering species are typically gone by 5/10, shorebird migration dries up by then as well, but interesting migrant songbirds may be seen into June. May is a great time to witness breeding behavior by locally nesting species, and with the California Bird Atlas going, many people were doing just that. The Long-tailed Duck found on 4/14 at the Woodland WTP continued through at least 5/1. Breeding Hooded Mergansers are increasing, with confirmed breeding from the American River Parkway and Cosumnes River Preserve. A Common Poorwill was found at Mississippi Bar, on the south side of Lake Natoma, on 5/2, and a Black Swift was reported over Carmichael on a stormy 5/26. A Costa's Hummingbird was a nice find (eBird Checklist S332813999) in northwest Rocklin on 5/2 through at least 5/5, plus several Calliope Hummingbirds were reported in the region. Reports of one to two Allen's Hummingbirds continued at a private yard southwest of Clarksburg.
Shorebirds often anchor this column, but there weren't any unexpected reports. It seems the region missed Solitary Sandpiper in May, with only a few reports from last month. Three Franklin's Gulls in gorgeous plumage (eBird Checklist S332685047) were a nice surprise from Beale Airforce Base on 5/4. Least Bittern reports continued with a surprising occurrence at the small wetland near Soil Bar Farms, upstream of River Bend Park, as well as Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area, Sherman Island, and a stunning six were found at the normally under-visited Rancho Seco Park. The Yellow-crowned Night Heron, back for its fourth year, was first reported this year on 3/28 and continued to be seen at the North Natomas Regional Park rookery throughout May. Brown Pelican reports, usually more of a summer phenomenon, came up the Sacramento River as far as Rio Vista.
Uncommon Empidonax flycatchers continued, with good numbers of Hammond's Flycatchers, several reports of Gray Flycatchers, and a few Dusky Flycatchers. Grasshopper Sparrows were singing from apparent territory from a few sites in the low foothill grasslands of Sacramento County. Several were also present for over a month on a portion of taller-than-usual grassland at Cosumnes River Preserve (CRP). That makes one wonder how much prospecting these birds do before settling on a breeding site as opposed to going to traditional sites year after year. A Clay-colored Sparrow photographed (eBird CA Atlas Checklist S333676309) at Rancho Seco Park on 5/6 was a really nice find of a species rarely encountered in the region, and almost never in spring. A Brewer's Sparrow was also in the area, singing its long-winded, buzzy song. Undoubtedly, the bird of the month was a Blue-winged Warbler found on 5/7 at North Davis Farms (eBird CA Atlas Checklist S334197104), continuing on 5/8. This is a first for the Central Valley and a very rare bird in the state. Most previous state records have been from desert oases or along the coast. In terms of Eastern warbler vagrants, it's one of the rarest. An American Redstart found (eBird CA Atlas Checklist S336416658) at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area on 5/10 is much more expected, but still a really nice local find. Yellow Warblers continue to nest at the Accidental Forest portion of CRP, with a female seen carrying food, confirming breeding for another year after decades of absence as a breeding bird.
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, Brian Barton, Laura Davis, Chris Dong, Konshau Duman, Lynette Williams Duman, Gil Ewing, Joshua Greenfield, Cliff Hawley, Mackenzie Hollender, Emmett Iverson, Julian Johnson, Dan Kopp, Manfred Kusch, Jeri Langham, James Laughlin, Andrew Lee, Chance Leone, Eric McKinley, Roger Muskat, Michael Perrone, Zane Pickus, Ron Pozzi, Michael Rushton, Samuel Schmidt, Steve Scott, Sean Smith, Gavin Stacey, Kirk Swenson, Kevin Thomas, John Trochet, Tom Uslan, Bart Wickel, and Bill Yeates. Thanks to everyone for their reports--without them, this column would not be possible.