From the President

Lewis's Woodpecker; © Ann Brice

From the President: October 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

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From the President: September 2022

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,

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Burrowing Owls; © JoAnne Fillatti

From the President: May 2022

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

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Tricolored Blackbird; © Lynda Goff

From the President: April 2022

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

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Cooper's Hawk; © Ann Burris

From the President: March 2022

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

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Blue morph Snow Goose; © Ann Brice

From the President: February 2022

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

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Short-eared Owl; © Erna Tarara

From the President: January 2022

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

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Colusa NWR; © Ann Brice

From the President: December 2021

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

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Lewis's Woodpecker at Lake Solano; © Ann Brice

From the President: November 2021

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

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Sandhill Cranes at Staten Island; © JoAnne Fillatti

From the President: October 2021

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

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Tree Swallow Nestlings; © Ina Rommeck

From the President: September 2021

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

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Yolo Basin Foundation Grant Report

Yolo Audubon gave one of its small grants ($2,000) to Yolo Basin Foundation’s Discover the Flyway school program this year.  The focus of our funding was on birds and their habitats.  The Foundation conducted their entire school program virtually and did an amazing job!  We are very proud to support them.  Here

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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 with the Acorn Woodpeckers over them.  When they get an acorn, they wedge it into the bark of a dead tree and hammer it until it cracks enough to remove the meat.  Great fun to watch!

Now some disappointing bird news–According to David Vela, the ranger at Colusa National Wildlife Refuge, there won’t be any water in the front unit where the observation deck is, unless we get an amazing amount of rain!  Due to the drought they’ve had to put their water resources in places they feel it’s most productive.  Everything else will be open, and there will be water along the auto tour loop; in fact there’s some there now.

We have our Christmas Bird count date set–December 18th.  Bart Wickel will be leading the count again, and we’ll have information on signing up posted on the website in a few weeks.  Meanwhile, put it on your calendar.

Finally, I want to encourage you to make a donation to Yolo Audubon.  You should have received an e-letter from us recently asking for a contribution to help keep our programs going.  Please stop by our donation page on the website if you can help.  Many thanks!

Good birding!

— Ann Brice, President