New Habitat Conservation Projects on Our Part of the Sacramento River The Sacramento River has a long history of severe constriction inside flood-control levees.  Today’s river managers understand that giving the river more room to meander down the valley both reduces the risk of unwanted flooding and makes space for

The YBA Small Grant Program Yolo Bird Alliance offers funding for work on the lives of birds in Yolo County and nearby areas.  The main aim is to help new investigators, mostly UCD students, get started on projects of interest to YBA.  The Small Grant Program has been busy supporting

Lake Alhambra Lake Alhambra, in the northeast corner of the residential part of Davis, is the largest body of water within several miles.  It is also the only place for water-oriented birds that I can readily reach by bicycle.  So I check it fairly often in the cooler months. It

Scrub-jays and Valley Oaks These two icons of Central Valley nature have close ties.  The California scrub-jay is one of the most common birds in Yolo County, while the valley oak was once the most numerous tree away from watercourses.  This oak occurs only in California, and the scrub-jay occurs

Fifty-five years of Christmas Bird Counts along Putah Creek The Putah Creek Christmas Count is by far the longest-running bird survey in our area, and holds a trove of information about the shifting status of birds as both land use and climate relentlessly change.  Now YBA Christmas Count chair Bart

The American Kestrel NestBox Project Continues Last April, this column reported on an effort to support populations of the American Kestrel by installation of nest boxes in auspicious spots in Yolo County. The project began in 2023 with ten boxes on select City of Davis properties. It has since grown

Birding Takes a Place in Popular Culture    In recent months, birding has rapidly grown in prominence in American popular culture. It seemingly began with the release of Listers, a feature-length documentary about competitive birding. The film follows Quentin and Owen Reiser, two brothers who become birders by spending a

A Breeding Bird Atlas for Yolo County – and for California      At a recent meeting, the Yolo Bird Alliance Board of Directors voted to join an ongoing statewide effort to produce a breeding bird atlas for each county. The atlas will document the population status, geographic distribution and

A New Habitat Project in the  South Yolo Bypass        The southernmost edge of our county, along dirt roads into the Yolo Bypass, is a place birders seldom visit. A mix of marsh, rice fields, and winter-flooded grassland and shrubland, it is nearly all private property. The California

Short-distance Migration Fall migration, the most exciting season for birding in these parts, is in full swing.  Birds from far away visit Yolo County for a short time, on their way from summer to winter quarters.  And there are three other kinds of migration, accomplished by species normally considered non-migratory.

Climate Warming is Killing Nestling Birds Earlier this year National Audubon along with a coalition of conservation organizations released a study (the 2025 U.S. State of the Birds report) that found recent large declines in bird numbers across the country and across many species.  The continued conversion of habitat, both

Kestrels in Our County   Yolo County’s smallest and most familiar falcon, the American kestrel, has been declining in numbers across its wide North American range in recent years.  There is some evidence that it is losing ground locally as well.  In natural situations, kestrels nest in tree cavities in