Long-eared Owl; © Steve Hampton

A mostly dry November was filled with interesting birds. Most intriguing was the appearance of two Black-throated Sparrows, only the fourth record for the county, at a private residence west of Winters on Nov 6, with at least one bird continuing longer (BG). A Red-breasted Merganser made a brief stop at the Woodland/Davis Clean Water Facility on Nov 22 (SHo). A very late American Golden-Plover arrived there on Nov 28 and stayed long enough to be enjoyed by many birders (SHo, MM). 

Mountain Plovers, no longer a regular visitor, arrived on Nov 1 along Hwy 45 south of County Line Rd (SH). What began with two individuals turned into 37 by the end of the month. Even less reliable, Long-eared Owls were found at three different sites: two along Cache Creek upstream of Wild Wings Park (RW) and another was found regularly roosting in a Chinese pistache tree along a greenbelt in east Davis (WH). This bird, enjoyed by many birders, is just the third record for the city of Davis. 

Noteworthy montane visitors have included two observations of flocks of several dozen Band-tailed Pigeons over Davis (SH, MP), and scattered reports of Red Crossbills, likely Type 2 based on analysis of a recording near Sacramento. 

Thanks to the following for their reports: Brenda Grewell (BG), Steve Hampton (SH), William Hemstrom (WH), Scott Hoppe (SHo), Michael Perrone (MP), Mark Martucci (MM).

Checklists with Photos:

Long-eared Owl (Davis): https://ebird.org/checklist/S76867919

American Golden-Plover: https://ebird.org/checklist/S76818762

Compiled by Steven Hampton, Davis, CA