Cosumnes River Preserve, 6/14/03 (1 Viewer)

Hello Birders....

Here's my first trip report on the BF.....!

Yesterday, June 14, I made a short visit to the Willow
Slough Trail at Cosumnes River Preserve, south of
Sacramento in California's Central Valley. I planned
the visit, hoping to see the Blue Grosbeaks that nest
there in the summer months. As there are no more
than a few pairs that nest along the trail, seeing them
is always a hit-or-miss affair . This time around, I may
have heard them in a densely vegetated area, well off
the trail; however, my experience with their calls is
limited, so I can't really say for sure.

The weather was sunny and hot, with temperatures
in the low 90s, so a lot of the other birds were rather
inactive. I was especially mystified by the absence of
Red-winged Blackbirds, which are usually calling and
chasing each other through the cattails here, no
matter how hot it gets. I saw and heard lots of SONG
SPARROWS and MARSH WRENS, but no red-wings
.....very strange.

I did observe 2 WESTERN WOOD-PEWEES in the
wooded areas in and around the junction of the
Mokelumne River and Willow Slough. Although they
might nest elsewhere on the preserve, I have never
before seen them in this area at this time of the year.
Perhaps their presence here - and the Red-winged
Blackbirds' absence - are just more side effects of
the topsy-turvy weather regime that we've had out
here in California this year.

Good Birding!
Arnel Guanlao

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BIRD LIST
Willow Slough Trail, Cosumnes River Preserve
Sacramento County, CA
6/14/2003

Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) - 1
Great Egret (Ardea alba) - 1
White-tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus) - 1
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) - 2
Nuttall's Woodpeckeer (Picoides nuttallii) - 3
Western Wood-Pewee (Contopus sordidulus) - 2
Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans) - 3
Ash-throated Flycatcher (Myiarchus cinerascens) - 1
Western Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma californica) - 7
Yellow-billed Magpie (Pica nuttalli) - 2
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhyncos) - 6
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) - lots
Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus) - lots
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) - 1 [heard]
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) - at least 5
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris) - lots
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) - 2
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) - 7 [all heard]
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus) - 8
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) - at least 10
Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) - 5
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) - 2
House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) - a few

Incidentally, more information about Cosumnes River Preserve can be found at www.cosumnes.org. The preserve is owned by the Nature Conservancy, and protects the last undammed river in the state of California. The Willow Slough Trail traverses a small part of the preserve, through some good riparian corridor, shallow marsh, and valley oak savannah. I fondly remember it as the place where I saw my very first American Bittern a few years ago.

Winter time is the best time to visit, when the preserve is full of ducks, shorebirds, raptors, and sandhill cranes. But, even in the summer, the preserve can offer up some good birds such as Blue Grosbeak or Black-chinned Hummingbird.

- Arnel Guanlao

Arnel - Although your post 2003 is rather ancient I wanted to say I found a lot of value in it. Using your list I copy & pasted bird names into Google and found images that beat out any of the four bird books I own. I've made a text copy of it that I plan to add other birds to as I encounter them. I also followed-up for more info on the Cosumnes River Preserve taking a good look at it using Google Earth option in Google Maps. I checked their website and think I'll take a drive down there some day soon. I live in the foothills about 50 miles from there.

So, it's a bit belated, but THANKS for your post.

Mark