(If you have any interesting sightings in May, you can send them to the Newsletter Editor at tim.ruckle@sbcglobal.net by April 20 for possible inclusion in the next newsletter.)

April 6 – Phil Johnson saw a Caspian Tern at Llano Seco - perhaps an earliest county record.  Yellow-headed Blackbirds were present as well.  On the same day, at Elk Creek, Phil spotted seven male Wild Turkeys strutting and gobbling in unison.  He also eyeballed a Merlin at East Park Reservoir and another in Bear Valley.

April 13 – Frank Stagner spotted a pair of Blue Geese on the pathway behind the Lodge at the Terraces in Chico. They allowed him to casually approach them to about 12 feet. One totally ignored him while the other gladly posed for photos standing on one leg.

April 16 - Jennifer Patten had some American Goldfinches at her feeder but not much else.  Others also have noted that many of the other “regular” backyard birds (BYB’s) have disappeared and bird-walk reports indicate the migration is now in full swing.

April 17 – Jackson Shedd saw a pair of ravens flying low over the Esplanade near East Ave.  Their appearance in town is highly irregular and could be bad news for other breeding birds in town.

April 23 – Dawn Garcia heard Pine Siskins singing from the tops of pines in Paradise.  While banding birds at the Butte Creek Environmental Preserve she heard Wilson’s Warblers and Bullock’s Orioles and saw Black-headed Grosbeaks and Orange-crowned Warblers, and two members of her team saw four Western Tanagers.

April 27 – Ruth Kennedy saw an Olive-sided Flycatcher off the bike path between Sycamore Creek and E. Lassen Ave.

April 28 – Mike Skram saw a Turkey Vulture circling over downtown Chico the other day and figures it may not be significant, but he’s continuing to ponder on it.