Orr Ranch (limited access), Sacramento, California, US
Dec 28, 2025 6:44 AM – 11:21 AM
4.143 mile(s)
35F, patchy fog at start. Became sunny with light breeze. 50F at end.
The slough was well out of its banks, so we only got near the forest in a few spots. We walked through more grassland habitat–with extensive stands of gum plant festooned with probably miles worth of fine spider webbing–than on a typical survey even for this season because the water was so high. There were many deer (perhaps two dozen) as well as a couple of cottontails at McFarland Ranch and several fox squirrels in the trees. Cougar Wetlands access was completely flooded.
68 species (+8 other taxa)

Snow Goose  12
Ross’s Goose  1
Snow/Ross’s Goose  1
Greater White-fronted Goose  140
Wood Duck  55
Northern Shoveler  1     Only seen in flight
American Wigeon  14
Mallard  45
Northern Pintail  14
Green-winged Teal  9
Ring-necked Duck  7
Hooded Merganser  15
duck sp.  1     Possibly a female Canvasback, but the bird turned away before a positive ID was made.
Wild Turkey  35
Eurasian Collared-Dove  4
Mourning Dove  16
Anna’s Hummingbird  1     Female at David and Leigh Ann’s
Sandhill Crane  65
Killdeer  2
Greater Yellowlegs  42     Foraging along flooded bays off the main slough. Some wading more than belly deep.
Ring-billed Gull  2
California Gull  4
Larus sp.  24
Pied-billed Grebe  2
Double-crested Cormorant  5
Snowy Egret  2
Great Egret  1
Great Blue Heron  2
Turkey Vulture  10
White-tailed Kite  2
Northern Harrier  2
Red-shouldered Hawk  4
Red-tailed Hawk  4
Great Horned Owl  2     Calling early and one flushed late in the morning.
Acorn Woodpecker  1
Downy Woodpecker  1
Nuttall’s Woodpecker  10
Northern Flicker  18
American Kestrel  2
Black Phoebe  4
Say’s Phoebe  4     More conspicuous than usual. Singing and two interacting near David and Leigh Ann’s.
California Scrub-Jay  8     Relatively inconspicuous
Yellow-billed Magpie  3     Seen late, just east of David and Leigh Ann’s
American Crow  6
Common Raven  8     Soaring together
Oak Titmouse  7     Took a while to find the first one
Tree Swallow  14
Bushtit  22
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  28
White-breasted Nuthatch  14
Northern House Wren  6
Bewick’s Wren  4
European Starling  300     Fairly large flocks early
Northern Mockingbird  3
Western Bluebird  22
Hermit Thrush  2
American Robin  15     Hard to find until late
American Pipit  12
House Finch  15     Hard to find until late
Lesser Goldfinch  70
American Goldfinch  0     May have heard one
Dark-eyed Junco  5
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon)  60
White-crowned Sparrow (Gambel’s)  10
White-crowned Sparrow (pugetensis)  18     Relatively large flock at traditional location near David and Leigh Ann’s. Yellow-billed and more brownish rather than gray. Clearer (less buzzy) song. May have some useful photos.
Golden-crowned Sparrow  14
Savannah Sparrow  75     Flooding and our altered route through more habitat for this species elevated the count above typical numbers.
Song Sparrow  0     Surprising miss
Lincoln’s Sparrow  9
California Towhee  6     More conspicuous than usual
Spotted Towhee  32
Western Meadowlark  45
Red-winged Blackbird  35
Brewer’s Blackbird  140
blackbird sp.  25
Yellow-rumped Warbler  8
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)  1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon’s)  180     Abundant along route. Estimated by 10s.

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S290865562