We’re back!  After a summer break, Yolo Audubon is gearing up again.  I want to start by thanking Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry and staff from Senator Dodd’s office for taking time to meet with us virtually in August for Audubon Advocacy Day.  Yolo Audubon board member Diane Colborn coordinated the Yolo group,

With May comes the end of the Yolo Audubon year.  We now go into vacation mode until September.  Several of our wonderful board members are leaving us this term.  A big thank you to Deb Ford, Alison Kent, John Mott-Smith, and Rick Williams, and welcome to new board members Kelli

Spring is upon us, and one of the most significant April activities is the Statewide Tricolored Blackbird Survey.  This volunteer event on behalf of the state threatened species only occurs every three years, and the 2022 dates are April 15-17. The Yolo County Survey Coordinator is UC Davis graduate student

I hope many of you participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count in February.  I loved the photo and story Ann Burris posted on Facebook about her count.  It had to do with temporarily depressed bird numbers on her property.  Then when she looked through the window into the back

I hope you’ve been getting out to enjoy our winter birds.  It won’t be long before they start heading north again.  I especially like visiting the Colusa National Wildlife Refuge because it’s relatively close to Yolo County, and it has a great platform for close viewing of a variety of ducks and

Winter is here, and we finally have rain!  Many of us have been out birding and enjoying the green hills, as well as the flooded rice fields (see the related Conservation article by Michael Perrone).  One of my favorite birds seen and photographed this season is the Short-eared Owl, which

The holiday season is upon us.  I hope everyone will schedule time to take a trip to see our winter birds.  The waterfowl are in at the refuges, like Colusa and Sacramento, and more birds are arriving at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area.  Even the non-birders in your family will be

Big news!  Off-highway vehicles were unanimously banned on Cache Creek at the Yolo County Board of Supervisors meeting on October 26th.  This was due in no small part to the persistence of Yolo Audubon board member Rick Williams and Cache Creek Conservancy president Jim Barrett in keeping the issue in

The cranes are arriving in northern California.  Hundred of birds can currently  be seen at Staten Island now that the corn harvest is underway, and the numbers will soon grow to thousands. The Cosumnes River Preserve website provides good information on where to see the birds and includes a map.  It’s fascinating to watch

Fall is almost here—warblers are stopping by the water feature in my yard—so it’s time to gear up for birding!  John Mott-Smith has assembled a great series of field trips this season, with Covid precautions.   Please check out the details on the Yolo Audubon website as they become available. While you’re on

It’s hard to believe, but we’ve reached the end of the Yolo Audubon 2020-2021 season.  This is our last newsletter until September.  Thank you for sticking with us through these unsettled times.  We’ve had record attendance at our Zoom monthly meetings and are in the process of trying to decide what