Why do some species evolve complex cognitive behaviors while others do not? One hypothesis is that social species need more advanced cognitive abilities than asocial species to deal with the unpredictable behavior of other animate beings. Therefore, sociality may co-evolve with cognitive traits that ease navigating social interactions to increase survival and fitness within a […]
On this trip we will visit Lake Solano County Park where Putah Creek runs between Yolo and Solano Counties. We will be looking for resident species as well as those that come to spend the winter in the area. The oak woodland, riparian habitat and creek can result in bird sightings that include Osprey, Phainopepla, Wood […]
Come look for birds and friendly goblins at the Davis Cemetery on this Halloween weekend. The 28-acre cemetery is a National Wildlife Federation certified wildlife habitat. Many species of birds are attracted to this suburban woodland and the historic swale; the cemetery is well known for a large flock of Wild Turkeys. Several species of […]
The Cosumnes River Preserve has an array of important valley floor bird habitats including wetlands, floodplains, agricultural land, and rare valley oak riparian. Birding at the interface of these habitats provides a unique opportunity to view a diverse list of species with relative ease. We will follow the flat and well-maintained walking trails through these […]
Please join Yolo Audubon’s virtual Members’ Meeting on Nov. 17 when Dr. John Eadie will take us “backstage” to provide a look at his work with the glamourous wood duck. Biologists have studied the charismatic wood duck for well over a century. What more could possibly be learned? As it turns out, quite a bit. […]
This post-Thanksgiving trip will feature iconic Central Valley wintering birds at two national wildlife refuges. Depending on water conditions, in late November the Sacramento and Colusa National Wildlife Refuges typically host hundreds of thousands of wintering geese and ducks, as well as many other birds. We will also have good chances of seeing bald eagles […]
Join us for a morning of hiking at Audubon California’s Bobcat Ranch, located in the foothills of the Coast Range just west of Winters. Our moderately easy hike will be roughly two miles round-trip, following ranch roads through the Blue Oak grasslands. The final route for the hike has not been set, but no matter […]
Always a popular event, Compiler Bart Wickel and Emmett Iverson host the Bird ID workshop in preparation for our 51st annual Putah Creek Christmas Bird Count (CBC). Bart will share data and trends from previous counts, touch on the impacts of climate change and fire history on the count. Emmett will lead a session on helpful tips […]
On this trip we will visit Cache Creek Nature Preserve, a private/non-profit outdoor preserve that has gone through more than 25 years of habitat restoration work located just off the Cache Creek Watershed in Woodland, CA. We will be looking for resident species and those that winter here in the area. A combination of wetland, […]
The traditional Putah Creek Christmas Bird Count Compilation ‘potluck’ will be held online this year, via Zoom. Whether you were able to join the count or not, we invite to join us to watch the returns come in. Bart Wickel and the Area Leaders from the count will supply historical and regional analysis, stories from […]
Please come join us to try and find as many raptor species as possible. We will focus on Yolo County, but we may visit adjacent counties as well in our quest. In addition to the more common species, our targets will include Bald Eagle, Ferruginous Hawk, Golden Eagle, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, Prairie Falcon and Rough-legged Hawk. […]
For the last 17 years Altacal Audubon has hosted the northern saw-whet owl banding station at Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve. In the presentation, Ken Sobon will talk about the natural history of the northern saw-whet owl, our banding process and the results from the last 17 years of study. Ken Sobon is an avid […]