October  7-9 - Point Reyes National Seashore - Jennifer Patten, Gaylord Grams, Warren Patten and Mike Fisher were the participants in last month’s trip to Point Reyes.  Despite some high winds during the weekend, they saw 81 species of birds (and heard three others – Red-shouldered Hawk, Wrentit and Marsh Wren) in various environments.  Off Hwy. 5 near the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge they saw White-faced Ibis, Long-billed Curlews, Snowy Egrets and Great Egrets.  Off Hwy. 37 between Vallejo and Novato, in the vast wetlands along the road, hundreds of Black-necked Stilts were gathered together.  While eating lunch at a winery they noted Ruby-crowned Kinglets, a Black Phoebe, Yellow-rumped Warblers, a flock of Cedar Waxwings and a Red-tailed Hawk.

The Samuel P. Taylor campground (in large groves of redwoods), the Earthquake and Woodpecker trails, and the Olema (fresh water) Marsh produced the following:  Brewer’s Blackbirds, Acorn Woodpeckers, Dark-eyed (Oregon) Juncos, White- and Golden-crowned Sparrows, Bushtits, Oak Titmouse, Nuttal’s Woodpecker, Northern Flickers, Turkey Vultures, California Quails, Ravens, American Crows, Spotted Towhees, Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Mallards, American Coots, Cinnamon Teals, Song Sparrows, a White-tailed Kite, Winter Wrens, Townsend’s Warblers, and a Belted Kingfisher.

On Saturday, heavy winds limited the number of birds to be seen on the outer Peninsula’s rocky headlands and coastal scrub areas.  They did see Common Loon, Surf Scoter, Western Grebes, Horned Grebes, Double-crested Cormorants, Savannah Sparrows, and lots of sea lions at the Docks.  Drake’s Beach produced a Say’s Phoebe, Yellow-rumped Warblers, White- and Golden-crowed Sparrows, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Marbled Godwits, Sanderlings, and Western Gulls.  Behind the parking lot they flushed out 4-6 Barn Owls in the cypress trees.  At two of the historic ranches they spotted Great Horned Owls, Western Bluebirds, Loggerhead Shrike, an American Kestrel and Fox Sparrows.

Other birds seen in beautiful weather on Sunday were a Black-throated Gray Warbler and a Prothonotary Warbler (the key migrant rare bird) on the Earthquake Trail and (at Abbott’s Lagoon) Dunlin, Sanderlings, Least Sandpipers, Snowy Plovers, American Avocets, Brown Pelicans, White Pelicans, Common Loon, Pied-billed Grebe, Northern Harriers, and American Kestrels.  At Tomales Bay State Park they saw Pygmy Nuthatches, a Yellow Warbler and some Townsend’s Warblers.

October 15 - Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge (SRNWR) Grand Opening - Sul Norte Unit - Altacal nominee-for-President Phil Johnson led a group of about 16 people on a bird walk to help inaugurate the opening of the Sul Norte unit of the SRNW refuge.  This land was converted from orchards to a riparian restoration site by the Nature Conservancy, and is now in the hands of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  No trails are planned for this unit, but it is currently easy to walk through. Hunting is allowed. It contains a young Cottonwood/Willow/Valley Oak forest, open grasslands, an oxbow slough, and river frontage.  It is located directly across the river from Butte City, and is easily viewed from the elevated causeway on the west side of the river (look to the north).  Wild Turkeys are abundant on the site. The group saw Western Scrub Jays, Northern Flickers, a Cooper's Hawk, Red-tailed Hawks, an American Pipit, Cedar Waxwings, a Black Phoebe, a Lesser Goldfinch, a Northern Mockingbird, and many other riparian regulars.

October 22 - Cottonwood Rd. to the Afterbay (Oroville):  Led by Altacal Director and Past-President Jackson Shedd, a group of about eight birders started at the west end of Cottonwood Rd., drove to the end and headed over to the east side of Nelson Ave. from Oroville, then back west to Thermalito Afterbay. Some of the highlights were: The group stopped at some unexpectedly flooded rice fields on Cottonwood which yielded some shorebird activity. Among many Killdeer and some Greater Yellowlegs, a great opportunity arose to differentiate Dowitcher sp. (probably Long-billed Dowitcher) from Wilson’s Snipe in flight. (Look for the white rump on the dowitchers and buffy dorsal stripes on the snipe!) Further down the road they spotted a moderately sized group of Sandhill Cranes.  Raptors also put in an appearance. A sitting White-tailed Kite and Northern Harrier gave great looks. Two to three Prairie Falcons (one may have been the first one seen earlier) gave only fly-over looks, and a Burrowing Owl retreated to the ground after giving the first car an extremely great stare-down from a fence post! It was somewhat late by the time the group made it to Nelson Ave, but a stop at the Forebay allowed looks at a sparse number of waterfowl, grebes, and gulls. The somewhat unusual sighting there, however, were two Barn Swallows (imm.) flying back and forth. At the Afterbay the scopes brought by three people allowed views of Clark’s, Western, Eared, and Pied-billed Grebes, as well as a few ducks.