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Bufferlands Big Day
The Sacramento County Bufferlands "Big Day" birding event was a big success. The 20 participants visited the Constructed Wetlands project, Fishhead Lake, Lost Lake, Upper Beach Lake, Morrison/Laguna riparian forest, and several upland agricultural areas. At the beginning, the group did not know what to expect when they learned they would be covering a small area less than 4 miles wide. At day's end, the group had succeeded in finding an amazing 110 species!
While we didn't find anything outrageous, we did find some interesting birds. Perhaps the least expected were several Chipping Sparrows, a species only rarely seen in Sacramento Valley. Other migrants included Lazuli Bunting, Hermit Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, and Pacific-slope Flycatcher. Among the expected groups of shorebirds were Semipalmated Plovers, and several Whimbrels. Most of the winter resident song birds were present, as were several duck species including Ring-necked Duck, and Canvasback. The only surprising miss of the day was Green Heron. We also missed Dark-eyed Junco and Hermit Thrush, which had both been seen the day before. The biggest crowd pleasers were the Burrowing Owls and a Great-horned Owl nest with three nestlings. We hope you can join us next year.
Here is a list of the birds species seen during the day:
Pied-billed Grebe
American White Pelican
Double-crested Cormorant
American Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
White-faced Ibis
Greater White-fronted Goose
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Green-winged Teal
Mallard
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Canvasback
Ring-necked Duck
Ruddy Duck
Turkey Vulture
White-tailed Kite
Northern Harrier
Red-shouldered Hawk
Swainson’s Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Ring-necked Pheasant
California Quail
Virginia Rail
Sora
Common Moorhen
American Coot
Killdeer
Ring-billed Gull
Caspian Tern
Rock Dove
Mourning Dove
Barn Owl
Great Horned Owl
Burrowing Owl
Anna’s Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Nuttall’s Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Western Kingbird
Black Phoebe
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Western Scrub-jay
American Crow
Yellow-billed Magpie
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet
Greater Yellowlegs
Spotted Sandpiper
Whimbrel
Western Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Dunlin
Long-billed Dowitcher
Common Snipe
Oak Titmouse
Bushtit
White-breasted Nuthatch House Wren
Bewick’s Wren
Marsh Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
Wrentit
Northern Mockingbird
Loggerhead Shrike
European Starling
Warbling Vireo
Cassin’s Vireo
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Wilson’s Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Black-throated Gray Warbler
Hermit Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Lazuli Bunting
Spotted Towhee
California Towhee
White-crowned Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Lincoln’s Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Brewer’s Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Western Meadowlark
Bullock’s Oriole
American Goldfinch
House Finch
House Sparrow