Sandhill Crane ©JoAnne Fillatti
You know we’re moving into the fall season when the Sandhill Cranes arrive. You can see hundreds, if not thousands by now, at Staten Island in the Delta. You can also check out the nearby Cosumnes River Preserve for a great variety of wintering waterfowl. And if you want to head north, I just saw Tundra Swans a few days ago near Marysville. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is holding swan tours in that area for the next few months.
I want to remind you again that the Central Valley Birding Symposium is coming right up in Stockton November 16-19 with multiple days of field trips, speakers, and workshops. Check here to learn more about it. Yolo Audubon is a proud sponsor of the event.
Every year Yolo Audubon participates in the Pacific Flyway Shorebird Survey at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area. Audubon California, the survey coordinator, is looking for additional volunteers who are comfortable with Central Valley shorebird identification to cover survey routes north of Yolo County near Sacramento, Colusa and Delevan national wildlife refuges. Contact Ian Souza-Cole with Audubon’s Working Lands Program to learn more. Finally, please take a moment to read a report about the bird surveys being conducted by YAS at Bobcat Ranch. The article was published in the USA National Phenology Network – Nature’s Notebook Report.
Breaking news: On November 1, the American Ornithological Society announced that birds in the Americas will no longer be named after people, and is committed to renaming all current species with such names. Stay tuned for more information in the next issue of the Burrowing Owl.
Good birding!
— Ann Brice, President