In the winter, the fields host a large number of migratory ducks, geese and shorebirds, and weedy fields and roadside tangles host a variety of sparrows.

Perhaps you will be the first person in over 50 years to report a breeding pair in Sacramento County. As you travel through the rice fields, be on the lookout for Black Terns. Rice fields and canals attract many different species, including Black-crowned Night-Heron, Green Heron, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, White-faced Ibis, Double-crested Cormorant, Cinnamon Teal, Pied-billed Grebe, Long-billed Curlew, American Coot and Common Gallinule. Scan every flock, as they travel with Brewer’s Blackbirds and Red-winged Blackbirds. To find them, look for cattle and standing water in grassy areas with blackberry bushes growing on paddock fences. Tricolored Blackbirds have been known to nest near the East Levee Road just south of Riego Road. Swainson’s Hawks are present from April through September and are best observed while on the Garden Highway from North Bayou Way to Elverta Road. There is a $6 parking fee, or your Sac County Park Pass works here.īirding the site: Because of its varied habitat, a large variety of birds may be seen. Turn left and drive west 0.7 miles to the Park entrance on your right. Turn right on Watt and drive north about 2 miles to Elverta Rd. Turn left (west) on Elkhorn and drive west for about 3 miles to Watt Ave. From here, continue 3 miles northeast to the Greenback Ln/Elkhorn Blvd Exit. 80, noting Watt Ave where these freeways converge.

eBird Sightingsĭirections: From downtown Sacramento, head easterly on either I-80 or Bus. In appropriate seasons, Northern Flickers, Acorn, Downy and Nuttall’s Woodpeckers are present along with an occasional Red-breasted Sapsucker and more common residents. This trail is at its best during spring and fall migration with large numbers of sparrows, warblers and kinglets in the canopy and on the ground. Dry Creek runs year-round and may produce herons, egrets and with certainty, Mallards.

Heading south on the trail, you will find a dense riparian corridor of huge old oaks, sycamores, and a variety of stream-side bushes, especially poison oak! Checking the open fields to the west may yield Western Bluebirds, Killdeers, Wild Turkeys, American Pipits and Meadowlarks. From the entrance gate, drive 1.5 miles to where the road dead ends in a large parking lot. Birding the Site: The best birding is along Dry Creek.

The trap by indigo wren