Allen's Hummingbird; © Zane Pickus
It was a slow month for the Yolo eBird reviewers but a few great birds kept March interesting for birders. The find of the month was an adult male Allen’s Hummingbird found south of Clarksburg on March 17th. (TU) This is one of very few chaseable records in the county. A common breeder as close as the Delta, this species has proven to be a huge pain for some of the top Yolo county listers. Allen’s Hummingbirds differ in appearance only ever so slightly from the more expected Rufous Hummingbird, which pass through Yolo in small numbers around this time of year. Tom did a wonderful job of documenting this bird by getting photos of the spread tail which showed narrow outer tail feathers and unnotched rectrices. Allen’s also migrate incredibly early, they show up in the Bay Area by January and are on nests by February! The late date and proximity to breeding populations in the Delta are suggestive that this bird may very well be on territory and could represent the first time this species has nested in the county.
A Green-tailed Towhee was discovered in central Davis not a block away from where a Broad-billed Hummingbird stunned birders earlier in the year. (CD) Presumably, this bird wintered locally which seems to be an increasing trend in Northern California.
A first cycle Glaucous Gull was found on March 10th by a pair of field biologists just south of the Colusa county line. It continued until at least March 15th. Konshau Duman and Lynette Williams have found some amazing birds this past winter doing shorebird and waterfowl surveys for the Nature Conservancy. (KD, LW)
Incredibly early was a first year male Black-headed Grosbeak in North Davis found on March 13th. (ZP) A Eurasian Green-winged Teal was seen on March 28th at the Yolo Bypass. (EI)
Thank you to the following observers for their checklists and reports: Tom Uslan (TU), Chris Dunford (KD), Konshau Duman (KD), Lynette Williams (LW), Zane Pickus (ZP), Emmett Iverson (EI).
eBird checklists with photos:
Allen’s Hummingbird: https://ebird.org/checklist/S83780562
Green-tailed Towhee: https://ebird.org/checklist/S82637774
Glaucous Gull:https://ebird.org/checklist/S83166152
Black-headed Grosbeak: https://ebird.org/checklist/S83326855
Eurasian Green-winged Teal: https://ebird.org/checklist/S84316423
Compiled by Emmett Iverson, Davis, CA