Recent Sightings

Yolo Notable Sightings: Summer 2022

September 2, 2022

Yolo Notable Sightings: April 2022

May 2, 2022

Migration! Millions of birds are on the move, making their way from the tropics of Central and South America to the boreal forests of North America. Warblers, vireos and flycatchers in their brilliant breeding plumages flying over the Central Valley are offered respite in the riparian habitat of Yolo County.

Yolo Notable Sightings: March 2022

April 2, 2022

March brought us a month of change, the bridge between the static of winter and the birth of the new year. Oaks are fully budded out, redbuds are in bloom, and the hills of Putah Canyon are glowing green. The growing tension of March builds throughout the month as we

Yolo Notable Sightings: February 2022

March 1, 2022

As Mӧtley Crüe once said, “gulls, gulls, gulls”. Oh, that’s not what they said? Close enough. The story of February was the gull action from the Davis Landfill and the County Road 104 ponds. Amongst the thousands of California, Herring, Cook Inlet and Thayers Gulls, a few goodies were picked

Yolo Notable Sightings: January 2022

February 4, 2022

January is a month for fresh starts and that is especially applicable to birders. As the calendar rolls into a new year, birders start their year lists anew and wait for January 1st to count their new year Black Phoebe and Anna’s Hummingbird on January 1st. For some of the

Yolo Notable Sightings: December 2021

January 4, 2022

The month of December was a relatively slow one for the birders of Yolo County, with storms drenching the Valley and dumping more than a dozen feet of snow on the Sierra. Rivers and bypasses have swollen, making ample habitat for ducks and geese. This influx of water should create

Yolo Notable Sightings: November 2021

December 13, 2021

November sees thousands and thousands of waterfowl flood into the Central Valley, filling our refuges, fields and bypasses with the spectacle and deafening sound of geese as they take flight together. The temperature has dropped and the last few western neotropical migrants trickle through as they try to make their

Yolo Notable Sightings: October 2021

November 2, 2021

October got off to a fast start with Yolo’s second record of Cassin’s Kingbird being found on the first of the month (CT). This bird worked its way south along the telephone wires of County Road 103 before disappearing after just a couple of hours. Birders who missed it were

Yolo Notable Sightings: Sept 2021

October 2, 2021

September: the best month of the year for rare birds in California and the month that every birder eagerly awaits. It was peak fall migration which often brings out-of-range visitors as birds freshly hatched in the far northern hemisphere find their way south for the first time. As usual for

Snowy Plover at Yolo Bypass; © Zane Pickus

Yolo Notable Sightings: Summer 2021

September 2, 2021

The summer of 2021 was defined for birders by water, or lack of it to be more precise. Huge droughts throughout the Great Basin saw massive numbers of failed breeders arriving in Yolo earlier than normal for fall migration. Wilson’s Phalaropes, Willets and Black Terns being the most conspicuous, as

Yolo Notable Sightings: April 2021

May 2, 2021

It has been a slow start to spring migration with warblers, flycatchers and vireos being seen in low numbers through the month of April. Birders I’ve spoken to down south said that they are starting to see a push of neotropical migrants just now so hopefully the floodgates open for

Yolo Notable Sightings: March 2021

April 2, 2021

It was a slow month for the Yolo eBird reviewers but a few great birds kept March interesting for birders. The find of the month was an adult male Allen’s Hummingbird found south of Clarksburg on March 17th. (TU) This is one of very few chaseable records in the county.

May is an exciting time to be out birding in Yolo County. Migrating songbirds working their way north from the tropics stop over in riparian areas throughout the area. Any morning birders can turn up dozens of “neotropical migrants,” and the keen observer will occasionally pick out unusual species amongst these flocks. This spring was a fantastic year for both GRAY FLYCATCHERSand DUSKY FLYCATCHERS. These small flycatchers are common breeders in the mountains to the north and east of us but only pass through Yolo County on rare occasions. Three DUSKY FLYCATCHERS were found throughout the month of May: one at Willowbank Ditch on May 7th (RF), one at West Pond on May 15th (KD, LW), and another at Fishing Access 1 in Putah Creek Canyon on May 19th (AE). GRAY FLYCATCHERS were discovered near UC Davis on May 4th (KD, LW), at Woodland Regional Park Preserve on May 6th (ZP, JH), and on May 15th at Grasslands Regional Park (EM) and Putah Creek Sinks (CT).

The indisputable star of May was a singing adult male CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER at Putah Creek South Fork Preserve on May 25th (MP). Unfortunately, this bird disappeared shortly after its discovery and was only seen by the original observer. Still, this rarity represents just the second spring record of this species, with the first over fifteen years ago.

June is often thought of as a slow month in Yolo County, when all that is here are the few breeding birds that we have. But for the second year in a row, an adult male ALLEN’S HUMMINGBIRDwas photographed in a yard in Clarksburg (TU). This yard had also had a few female selasphorus hummingbirds, and given the date, it is likely these were Allen’s as well. The adult male was seen through June 6th.

Fall shorebird migration starts early, with the peak usually around late July. Things got started early this year with the discovery of a SNOWY PLOVER at Woodland Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) on June 25th (CT). It turned out to be quite the fall for SNOWY PLOVERS, with three more individuals being discovered at WWTP (EI, ZP, SH) in July and August. Yet another was at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area on July 22nd (CD, JC). While expected in small numbers, SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS made an impressive showing this year. As many as ten different individuals were found throughout the month of July. An adult FRANKLIN’S GULL roosting with a gull flock at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area on July 19th and 20th was a wonderful find (WY, VW, MZ, LL).

Fantastic water levels at WWTP continued throughout the month of July and into August, producing a wide variety of shorebirds. Two out-of-range shorebirds highlighted this period. A molting adult STILT SANDPIPER spent two days at WWTP beginning July 13th and was seen by many (ZP). It represents one of just a few July records for the county. Fast-forward to August, and an adult RUDDY TURNSTONE captured the attention of many for four days following its discovery on August 4th (MP). This beautiful shorebird of the rocky coasts put on a show for the many birders who went to see it.

By August, fall songbird migration has begun. It starts as just a trickle – a few migrants here and there building in numbers with each passing day. By the end of August, fall songbird migration is in full swing and birds are everywhere. Local birders are kept busy scouring Putah Creek, Babel Slough, and other spots for rare songbirds. This fall is off to a truly impressive start, with three “vagrant” (lost), eastern warblers already discovered. A NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH was found on August 27th at Babel Slough, and gave incredible views through August 29th (MaM, LC). This represents the earliest fall record of this species, and the first for August. On August 30th, a TENNESSEE WARBLER was found at Putah Creek near Levee Road (MP). Seen briefly, this warbler was never seen again. Perhaps most shocking was a BLACKPOLL WARBLER in West Sacramento near Bridgeway Island Pond on August 30th (MiM). Amazingly, this bird was found in a lone cottonwood on the edge of the Deep Water Channel. A very pretty bird, it was enjoyed by a lucky few later that afternoon before it disappeared. This Blackpoll also represents an early fall record of the species, and is the first August record of this species in Yolo County.

Thanks to the following for their reports:

Andy Engilis (AE), Cameron Tescher (CT), Chris Dunford (CD), Emmett Iverson (EI), Ethan Monk (EM), Joe Clemens (JC), John Hansen (JH), Konshau Duman (KD), Louis Lo (LL), Lyann Comrack (LC), Lynette Williams (LW), Mark Martucci (MaM), Michelle McCormick (MiM), Meirun Zhang (MZ), Michael Perrone (MP), Rob Furrow (RF), Scott Hoppe (SH), Tom Uslan (TU), Violet Wu (VW), Wentao Yang (WY), Zane Pickus (ZP)

eBird Checklists with photos:

Compiled by Zane Pickus, Davis, CA