100 Per Month – March

This year, 2018, I have set up a little challenge for myself. The challenge is to see 100 or more species in Yolo County each month. Now, that does not mean that the 100 species of February have to all be different species from the 100 species in January. Rather it means that the total number of species seen in each month should get to a total of 100 or more. So, if I see a Red-tailed Hawk some time in January it gets added to the January list. If I see a Red-tailed Hawk some time in February it get added to the February list.

I am hoping this will help me to notice more details as I search to find that next species for a given month, encourage me to visit more habitat types each month, and highlight the seasonal differences as species come and go from my monthly list. I am looking forward to it, and will share what I see with you as the months go by.

Below is my species list from March. It has a total of 101 species, so I made my target! This month started really strong with 71 species on my list in just the first week. But  then things slowed down for the rest of the month. I was delighted to see my first Swainson’s Hawk of the year, but I have not yet found my first Western Kingbird. I had a nice diving duck month that included Canvasback, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser, and Ruddy Ducks! Another duck note of interest was that I spotted a few Green-winged Teal, but the Blue-winged Teal look like they have left the area. Additionally, the couple of Varied Thrush that I heard at Wood Duck Lake were a really wonderful treat that I was not expecting!

I am now 1/4th of the way through my challenge, and I am definitely continuing to enjoy it. I am looking forward to seeing what I can find in April!

Here is my March species list.

Species Name – Yolo County – March
1	Snow Goose
2	Ross’s Goose
3	Greater White-fronted Goose
4	Canada Goose
5	Wood Duck
6	Northern Shoveler
7	Gadwall
8	American Wigeon
9	Mallard
10	Northern Pintail
11	Green-winged Teal
12	Canvasback
13	Lesser Scaup
14	Bufflehead
15	Common Goldeneye
16	Common Merganser
17	Ruddy Duck
18	California Quail
19	Ring-necked Pheasant
20	Wild Turkey
21	Pied-billed Grebe
22	Double-crested Cormorant
23	American White Pelican
24	Great Blue Heron
25	Great Egret
26	Snowy Egret
27	Green Heron
28	White-faced Ibis
29	Turkey Vulture
30	White-tailed Kite
31	Northern Harrier
32	Cooper’s Hawk
33	Red-shouldered Hawk
34	Swainson’s Hawk
35	Red-tailed Hawk
36	Ferruginous Hawk
37	Virginia Rail
38	Common Gallinule
39	American Coot
40	Sandhill Crane
41	Black-necked Stilt
42	American Avocet
43	Killdeer
44	Long-billed Curlew
45	Long-billed Dowitcher
46	Greater Yellowlegs
47	Ring-billed Gull
48	California Gull
49	Glaucous-winged Gull
50	Rock Pigeon
51	Eurasian Collared-Dove
52	Mourning Dove
53	White-throated Swift
54	Anna’s Hummingbird
55	Belted Kingfisher
56	Red-breasted Sapsucker
57	Nuttall’s Woodpecker
58	Northern Flicker
59	American Kestrel
60	Merlin
61	Peregrine Falcon
62	Black Phoebe
63	California Scrub-Jay
64	Yellow-billed Magpie
65	American Crow
66	Common Raven
67	Tree Swallow
68	Barn Swallow
69	Oak Titmouse
70	Bushtit
71	House Wren
72	Marsh Wren
73	Bewick’s Wren
74	Golden-crowned Kinglet
75	Ruby-crowned Kinglet
76	Wrentit
77	Western Bluebird
78	American Robin
79	Varied Thrush
80	Northern Mockingbird
81	European Starling
82	Cedar Waxwing
83	Orange-crowned Warbler
84	Yellow-rumped Warbler
85	Fox Sparrow
86	Dark-eyed Junco
87	White-crowned Sparrow
88	Golden-crowned Sparrow
89	Song Sparrow
90	California Towhee
91	Spotted Towhee
92	Western Meadowlark
93	Red-winged Blackbird
94	Brown-headed Cowbird
95	Brewer’s Blackbird
96	Great-tailed Grackle
97	House Finch
98	Purple Finch
99	Lesser Goldfinch
100	American Goldfinch
101	House Sparrow