SAS Field Trip: Del Campo Park, 01/13/2026

No report submitted.

SAS Field Trip: Gray Lodge, 01/17/2026

Trip Cancelled.

SAS Field Trip: Wintering Raptors of the Valley (Meiss Road/Michigan Bar), 01/18/2026

Ferruginous Hawk was one of 13 raptor species we found. ©Craig Swolgaard

Leader Craig Swolgaard reported: The January 18 trip to find wintering raptors turned out to be pretty exceptional. The day began rather grim, but after a full day of incredible birding, we finally quit at 4:30 pm. As three of us left Folsom to meet the group at the Highway 16 meeting point, conditions changed abruptly driving south on Sunrise. The fog was so thick that I was lucky to see 50 yards ahead of the car. We arrived at the meeting point, where the group had gathered to carpool from there. We were thinking of calling it off because of the bad visibility, when someone mentioned that Michigan Bar Road (part of the route), was higher in the foothills and would possibly be good enough to try. So, the group of eight got into two cars and we started the route in reverse at Michigan Bar Road.

Later around noontime, the fog had lifted and we continued to Meiss Road. By late that afternoon we had recorded 58 species of birds, possibly the highest species count in any of these raptor trips. These included 13 species of raptors. The notable raptors were: Ferruginous Hawks, Peregrine and Prairie Falcons, Cooper and Sharp-shinned Hawks, Bald Eagle, Northern Harriers, several Burrowing Owls and a group of Short-eared Owls. The ponds were full of eleven species of waterfowl (and a small group of Long-billed Curlews) and at the Cosumnes River, we watched 22 Wilson’s Snipe fly in along the shore to forage near the bridge with a small group of male Hooded Mergansers upstream from the bridge. We ended the day on Meiss Road, watching the Short-eared Owls hunting over the grassland. What made this trip so good were the people who came. We all worked pretty hard at finding these birds and everyone there contributed to our sightings. I appreciate the resolve this group had and their enthusiasm. It made for a fun day.

SAS Field Trip: Beginning Birder Walk, William Pond Park, 01/18/2026

Leader Larry Hickey reported: Despite very foggy and cold weather, 13 hearty beginning birders joined us for a field trip at the William Pond section of the American River Parkway. It was very difficult to see much in the heavy fog, so we relied on calls, songs and silhouettes to identify Yellow-billed Magpies, Dark-eyed Juncos, and Cedar Waxwings. We were able to find a cooperative Red-shouldered Hawk, and found relatively good looks at a Snowy Egret at the river, but Common Goldeneye, American Coots, and even Pied-billed Grebes close to the shore were challenging to see. It was nice to find some of our wintering birds close by, including White-crowned Sparrows and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and the group of beginning birders remained upbeat and enthusiastic despite the challenging conditions.

SAS Field Trip: Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, 01/24/2026

Leader Cliff Feldheim reported: On 01/24, 6 of us enjoyed a cold, windy, but sunny, morning at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge. Although the large groups of geese were not present, we enjoyed great looks at a variety of waterfowl including Blue-winged, Cinnamon, and Green-winged teal. We enjoyed a couple of close looks at Bald Eagles and watched them fly in the distance flushing all the geese in the ponds outside of the tour route. In the afternoon, with the tour route just opened after flooding, we visited Colusa National Wildlife Refuge. A large group of a few thousand Snow and Ross's geese provided some good looks at them side by side. The sunshine provided great looks at both dabbling and diving ducks, with the male Ring-necked Ducks looking stunning in their breeding plumage, and the subtle beauty of the male Gadwall made us stop to look more than once.

SAS Field Trip: Michigan Bar, 01/25/2026

We found Lewis’s Woodpecker, which has been scarce this year. ©Craig Swolgaard.

Leader Chris Conard reported: Five of us had a really enjoyable half-day visit to grasslands and oak woodlands in eastern Sacramento County. We visited Michigan Bar Rd, a portion of Latrobe Rd, and Meiss Rd. Starting at Michigan Bar, we quickly picked up a Lewis's Woodpecker—a species that has been scarce this fall and winter. At the Michigan Bar bridge over the Cosumnes River, we saw Hooded Mergansers and Wilson's Snipe. A Hutton's Vireo was just up the hill in the oak woodland section, and for the rest of the day, raptors stole the show. We saw a total of four Bald Eagles, three Prairie Falcons, two Ferruginous Hawks, one Rough-legged Hawk, and one Burrowing Owl.

SAS Field Trip: Lincoln Grasslands, 01/31/2026

Leader Richard Barbieri reported: With 7 people attending my trip we headed north towards Lincoln making several stops along the route crisscrossing Hwy 65. The day presented us with a great variety of birds and weather was quite pleasant. All told we had a total number of species that reached 76 with several highlights. Birds of prey had rewarded us with Burrowing Owl, 2 Ferruginous Hawks, Prairie Falcon, and 5 Bald Eagles. We had several Say's Phoebes, 3 Hooded Merganser, Black-necked Stilts, American Avocets, and Long-billed Curlews. Camp Far West Lake shared its Rock Wren and Rufous-crowned Sparrow, and we finished the day with a great look at a Loggerhead Shrike.

SAS Field Trip: Robinson Road, Solano County, 02/01/2026

We found a surprising number of Loggerhead Shrike. ©John York.

Leader Maureen Geiger reported: Sometimes it just works! Robinson Road did not disappoint and was one of those trips when you were just thrilled to be birding with other birders in beautiful country, counting all the birds you could see. These ranch lands give a wonderful sense of wide-open spaces and are home to a truly surprising number of Loggerhead Shrikes and Say’s Phoebes. Six of us reveled in the other birds as well, seeing more than 30 grassland species. And while you can’t go wrong with all those shrikes and Say’s Phoebes, less than a quarter mile from trip’s end - when we had given up hope - suddenly above us were 2 Ferruginous Hawks circling in the sun. A perfect ending for a really great trip.

SAS Field Trip: Folsom Point, 02/07/2026

Leader Rich Howard reported: An early start on a cold morning did not discourage nineteen folks from joining this trip to Folsom Point. We had several people new to birding and/or to the Sacramento area, and all the participants were very helpful. We started at the boat ramp and found large groups of Western Meadowlarks and very vocal Red-winged Blackbirds. Moving on the picnic area at the north end of the point, we scoped the lake for the recently reported Red-throated Loons with no success, but did manage to find one Clark’s Grebe in the many groups of Western Grebes and a group of 60 Eared Grebes. A circle walk through the oak woodland gave us closer looks at the typical species - Acorn Woodpeckers, Oak Titmice, White-breasted Nuthatches, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and Common Bushtits. We also had nice flocks of Dark-eyed Juncos, White-crowned Sparrows, California Quail, and American Pipits. Raptors made a good showing, with scope views of a perched Red-shouldered Hawk, and multiple views of a pair of White-tailed Kites calling, kiting and eventually copulating.

Yellow-rumped warblers were everywhere. ©Kathryn Wong.

Yellow-rumped Warblers, Anna’s Hummingbirds and European Starlings were scattered everywhere we went. Back at the point, we scoped the lake for loons again and found one Common Loon to the west toward Beals Point, a Gadwall, a trio of Bufflehead, and pairs of Mallards and Common Mergansers. An Osprey flew by with a huge fish and one of the participants remarked, “Now we just need a Bald Eagle to chase it.” Sure enough, an adult Bald Eagle came following behind soon after. A highlight for a good day. Thanks to Michael Curtis for keeping our eBird list, which can be found here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S298690451

SAS Field Trip: Nimbus Fish Hatchery, 02/08/2026

We spotted a Great Horned Owl in a riverbank cavity on “Superb Owl Sunday”! ©Mary Forrestal.

Leader Molly Shea reported: Our group enjoyed a beautiful sunny morning at the Nimbus Fish Hatchery, while walking along the American River. During the first portion of the walk, we saw 51(!) species, with highlights including a unique juvenile Iceland Gull, many sightings of Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons, a pair of drumming Nuttall's Woodpeckers, and of course, the season-regular individual male Northern Pintail in the settling ponds. It was clear that spring is in the air after seeing some Bushtits gathering nesting material and depositing it into their pendulous sock nest, and a Great Horned Owl holed up in her riverbank cave nest. In the latter half of the morning, a smaller group of us continued on to the Nimbus Basin and were rewarded with 24 species including some special sightings, like Barrow's Goldeneyes, a Bald Eagle, and a Peregrine Falcon! On top of that, we were amused to watch a sea lion smack a steelhead trout on the water for about 10 minutes straight! A wonderful day overall — Super Bowl or Superb Owl? You tell me!

Young Birders Club Field Trip: Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area, 02/08/2026