Bushtit©Lynda Goff
You don’t have to go farther than your yard to see amazing birds, like Lynda Goff’s sweet Bushtit above that she snapped after Christmas. If you’ve got a favorite image of a bird from your yard, please send it to us, so we can feature it in the newsletter. We’re so lucky to live in such a birdy place year round.
Not surprisingly, this year’s Putah Creek Christmas Bird Count was a big success thanks to Bart Wickel, our compiler, as well as the ten area leaders and all the participants. Here’s an initial report from Bart: For the 53rd time since 1971, the Putah Creek Christmas Bird Count (CBC) was successfully completed on December 17th, 2023. Our regular count circle was covered by a high number of (98) participants distributed over 24 teams led by experienced birders and accompanied by new or less experienced birders. We managed, despite the inclement weather, to get close to our usual numbers, just shy of 140 species. While compilation is still underway, highlights of the count area were a record number of Western Tanagers (9) and record lows of waterfowl, both likely due to milder winter climate conditions. Bell’s Sparrows, a fire resilient species, made their first appearance on the ridges that were burned in the 2020 LNU fires while other species, most notably Wrentits, started to make a post-fire comeback as well. Particularly interesting were the record breaking numbers of Great Horned Owls and Western Screech Owls, as well as other raptors such as Red-tailed Hawks. There are some indications that this is due to an abundance of rodents in the post-fire canyons. The compilation will be finalized, as customary, by January 15th and then posted on the YAS website.
For all of you who are members of Yolo Audubon and/or National Audubon in our area, just a heads-up that you’ll soon be receiving a letter and survey request from us. The YAS board of directors continues to grapple with the question of a name change for our organization, and we want your input. Please take a minute to let us know how you feel.
Good birding!
— Ann Brice, President