Where did the second half of 2008 go?  Our "birding book group" at Sacramento Audubon finished up Birding in the Sacramento Region.  Somehow I ended up as the editor.  At 172 pages, with over 100 sites, it took on a life of its own.  I think it turned out well, and I'm very glad it is finished.  I thought that once it was out of the way I'd have a lot more free time, but things kept stacking up just the same.

I think a lot of my blogging energy was diverted into my Flickr photo site and obsessing about the Presidential race (thrilled at the outcome; cautiously optimistic about the future, with many lingering worries and disappointments--especially Prop 8).

The best find for me was a pair of Least Terns (original at Flickr) at the Sacramento Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant (which is surrounded by the Bufferlands) on 6/27/08, and they continued until 8/5/08.  This was a first for Sacramento County, and about 55 people were able to see them.  Two eggs were laid, but sadly they never hatched.  Perhaps this normally coastal nesting bird (at least in California) had its eggs cooked when there was a stretch of temps over 110 F.  Even though it would have been incredible for them to successfully nest, it was really cool that they even tried.  The normally colonial species looked really vulnerable nesting in the middle of the gravel road (which we closed while they were nesting).  By the end of July, a group of gulls gathered nearby, and the tiny terns spent a lot of time diving on them.