February 11 – Altacal Butte Basin Field Trip – Led by Phil Johnson on a clear and warm day, this trip proved to be a birding-bonanza blowout lasting nine hours and affording views of 87 species of birds.  "Butte Basin" refers to the flat, open lands roughly between Dayton, the Sutter Buttes, the Sacramento River, and Highway 99.  In earlier times, this area was all tule marshes and grasslands.  It still is somewhat of a winter-time "Serengeti" of migratory waterfowl.  On the way to Esquon Rd. we saw a Burrowing Owl – a nice way to start the day.  At Esquon Road, in a field where previously a Trumpeter Swan family had been seen, we spotted two Yellow-headed Blackbirds in a large, mixed flock of Blackbirds.  A Peregrine Falcon flew over us in this area too.  Having previously gotten permission, we then went to the Rancho Esquon private refuge where, in a beautiful wetland environment, we saw a good variety of waterfowl including a Eurasian Wigeon.  At one point, the birds were disturbed by a Bald Eagle in their midst.  Afterward, near the Llano Seco refuge on Grainland Rd. we witnessed parasitic behavior as many Ring-billed Gulls chased Long-billed Curlews and White-faced Ibises trying to get them to disgorge whatever it was that they were eating in the muddy rice fields.  The refuge held Ross's and Snow Geese, Tundra Swans, a large flock of American Avocets, a Golden Eagle, and many more waterfowl.   Continuing down Seven Mile Lane, we found a single Common Yellowthroat in a marsh (very early for this little one) off 7 Mile Lane where it crosses the bridge over Little Butte Creek, just before the Nelson Rd. turnoff.  We also saw some Black-crowned Night-Herons in the same area.  Eventually, we wound up taking Nelson Rd. all the way to the Forebay in Oroville. Ferruginous Hawks and a Say's Phoebe were some of the birds we saw along the drive.  On the bay, Horned and Eared Grebes presented side-by-side views.  In all, it was a birding day that the participants happily kept stretching out.

February 18 – Altacal Black Butte Lake Field Trip – Anne-Lise Feenstra led a small but enthusiastic group on a field trip from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the vicinity of the lake, along the lakeshore, and at the dam overlook on a crisp, gray day that turned sunny around mid-day.  Among the approximately 50 species of birds seen were six species of woodpeckers (including Lewis’s Woodpeckers and a Red-breasted Sapsucker), Mountain and Western Bluebirds, a Phainopepla, Say’s Phoebes, a Loggerhead Shrike and a mystery bird (perhaps a variation of Savannah Sparrow) that still has us scratching our heads.  Everyone agreed that it was a very enjoyable trip.