From the President

From the President: December 2023

December 5, 2023

From the President: November 2023

November 5, 2023

You know we’re moving into the fall season when the Sandhill Cranes arrive. You can see hundreds, if not thousands by now, at Staten Island in the Delta. You can also check out the nearby Cosumnes River Preserve for a great variety of wintering waterfowl. And if you want

From the President: October 2023

October 9, 2023

Last Saturday, Yolo Audubon held its first field trip for new birders at the Putah Creek Riparian Reserve in Davis, and by all accounts it was a huge hit. The more than 25 participants ranged from university students to an enthusiastic gentleman in a wheel chair. The common

From the President: September 2023

September 16, 2023

Yolo Audubon is back from its summer hiatus and has many field trips and presentations planned from now through May. We hope you’ll join us. We’re kicking the season off with a new field trip aimed at new birders on September 30th. This is a great opportunity for

From the President: May 2023

May 11, 2023

Yolo Audubon is winding down its 22-23 season. We’re sad to lose Ian Taylor as a long-time, very dedicated board member and Harnawaz Boparai, one of our new, young board members, who is leaving to continue his studies. The following new members have been nominated to serve on the

From the President: April 2023

April 5, 2023

It looks like we’re emerging from a much needed but very wet winter, and now spring is finally in the air. The raptors on my property always start breeding behavior early, and the Great-horned Owls, Cooper’s Hawks, Red-tailed Hawks and Kestrels should have young hatching soon. Moving from extremely local

From the President: March 2023

March 8, 2023

I’m very pleased to introduce you to Audubon California’s new Executive Director. Dr. Madhavi Colton. In my role as chair of the Audubon CA board, I’ve had the opportunity to get to know Madhavi and her plans for the organization, and I couldn’t be more excited to have such a

From the President: February 2023

February 10, 2023

The YAS board of directors wants you to know that we’ve started a new equipment loan program, so if you need to borrow binoculars or a scope for birding, we’re happy to lend them. Maybe you have out-of-town guests who need some binoculars to go out birding with you. If so,

From the President: January 2023

January 11, 2023

We had a very successful Putah Creek Christmas Bird Count on December 18th. According to count compiler Bart Wickel, “Our regular count circle was covered by 84 participants distributed over 25 teams led by experienced birders accompanied by new or less experienced birders. With a collective 205 party hours we successfully

From the President: December 2022

December 8, 2022

It’s time to sign up for the 52nd Christmas Bird Count (CBC) which will take place on Sunday, December 18th. Bart Wickel will be leading the count again along with 10 area leaders. Take a look at the CBC page on the website to see who is in charge of each area and contact them

From the President: November 2022

November 2, 2022

Fall is here, and it’s already time to think about the 52nd Christmas Bird Count (CBC) on December 18th! Bart Wickel will be leading the count again, and he has assembled the 10 area leaders. Take a look at the CBC page on the website to see who is in

From the President: October 2022

October 3, 2022

There are hundreds of Lewis’s Woodpeckers in our area this fall, and an easy place to observe and photograph them is Lake Solano. Usually you don’t see so many together, and they tend to fly catch from high perches, but right now they’re after acorns and can be seen squabbling

View of Road 45 in Yolo County with the Sutter Buttes behind Photo courtesy of Sami LaRocca

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, and now we here at Yolo Audubon are focusing on the upcoming Christmas Bird Count. We’ll kick things off with the annual CBC Bird I.D. presentation on December 6th at the Davis Senior Center at 7pm. This is our monthly speaker’s meeting for December and our first in-person meeting for a long time! See more information on the presentation in the article below. It’s a great chance to learn more about the count areas for the CBC and to sign up to participate. The actual CBC is December 17th and will be followed by a post-count potluck at the Senior Center. This year we’re really encouraging everyone to attend, whether you were part of the count or not. Bart Wickel, our CBC compiler, promises an entertaining evening!
Last month I mentioned that long-time YAS board member Nick Fittinghoff had passed away. Several of his family members and friends have made donations in his memory, for which we are very grateful. Nick’s daughter Catherine Lohmann sent a lovely note with her donation, which I want to share: This donation is made in memory of my father, Nick Fittinghoff, former board member, treasurer, and field trip director of Davis and then Yolo Audubon. He was an early organizer of the Christmas counts and always welcomed new birders, wanting to share his tremendous pleasure in birds and the outdoors. In the late 70’s, he and I began reporting our bird sightings at a local neighborhood creek. It had no name so we called it ‘Willowbank Ditch’. The name stuck and it is now an eBird hotspot with a record of 165 species. I hope this donation will help you all carry on the good work of the society that he enjoyed so much. All of us who knew Nick will think of him during the 53rd Christmas Bird Count on December 17th.
I want to introduce you to Autumn Turner, one of our newest board members. She graciously agreed to take over the job of editing the Burrowing Owl. She’s a wildlife biologist who lives in Woodland. Welcome and thank you, Autumn!
And, finally, Sami LaRocca took the beautiful shot of wintering geese in flight at the top of the column. This is a reminder the season is upon us, so go out and enjoy some birds!

Happy Holidays!
— Ann Brice, President