About two miles south of Davis, on the east side of Mace Boulevard, lies the South Fork Preserve. The 110-acre site includes big trees close to the creek, a younger plantation of native trees and shrubs, and a weedy grassland, all on former farmland. It has become decent habitat for

Text and photos by Sonjia Shelly, YAS Board Nest box monitoring at North Davis Channel TRES=tree swallow; WEBL=western bluebird; HOWR=house wren; HOFI=house finch Monitoring began 2/24/22 and ended 7/18/22 Observers included Zane Pickus, Ina Rommeck, John Hansen and Sonjia Shelly Nest building was evident as early as 3/18/22 by TRES

The Woodland Regional Park Preserve is a 160-acre parcel in the southeast corner of Woodland, just east of Road 102 and south of Road 25. It is the newest park in the county, and still in development. The City of Woodland and a partnership of local nonprofits, including Yolo Audubon,

Birding the same patch over a long span of time is always rewarding. I have walked part of the Wildhorse Ag Buffer regularly for the last several years. I like it because a few minutes on foot gets me out of urban Davis onto the edge of farmland and a

The basis for acceptance of reports of unusual birds has changed over the years, and continues to evolve. From the beginning of bird study in America to well into the 1950’s, reports of rare birds were seldom taken seriously by the authorities, namely, professional ornithologists, except over the barrel of

The Yolo Habitat Conservancy is an arm of county government whose chief job, so far, is to oversee a coherent approach to mitigation for impacts of development and other land disturbances.  Projects that degrade or eliminate habitat for certain plant and animal species can get permits to do so by

From Knights Landing to a bit past the Colusa County line, the land along State Highway 45 and over to the Sacramento River belongs to River Garden Farms.  It supports crops from alfalfa to watermelons in the growing season, and a remarkable variety of birds in winter. Three thousand acres

The November issue of this newsletter noted that the Yolo County Board of Supervisors had voted in October to ban off-highway vehicles (OHVs) from Cache Creek.  The notice was a bit premature.  What the supervisors did was to ask their staff to draft an ordinance to close the creek to

Many of the common, English-language names for American birds have changed repeatedly over the years.  In my time as a birder, the largest egret in Yolo County has been called American, common, and now great egret.  Yolo’s most numerous jay has been called California, scrub, western scrub, and now California

Near the north edge of Yolo County, a little-known birding hotspot lies along County Road 98A where it meets State Highway 45.  A grove of big valley oaks along the highway tapers into a line of trees, mainly along the east side of the road, with a wide drainage canal

Why does Audubon California support cattle ranching, when some believe that cattle production and beef consumption are bad for the planet? For an answer, look no further than the hills northwest of Winters, to Bobcat Ranch.  Although it may look like an ordinary cattle ranch, its grazing program aims to improve

Submitted by Sonjia Shelly, YAS Board In early 2020, the Yolo Audubon Society board was approached by two local organizations (Friends of North Davis Channel and Woodland Regional Preserve) to fund and install song bird nest boxes in their respective areas. The YAS board provided the funding for needed materials,