A New Yolo County Big Year
Record and Other News
Julian Johnson
Yolo Bird Alliance is excited to announce that Julian Johnson broke the Yolo County Big Year record in 2025. Please take time to read the details of this amazing feat in the article by Zane Pickus below.
The California Bird Atlas project has officially launched! All birders are invited to join the project by visiting the new California Bird Atlas website here, where you can simply click “Join Project” and you will be able to contribute checklists documenting breeding activity to the Atlas through your eBird app or the project website. The Quick Start Guide on YouTube also includes additional information to help you get started, including the breeding codes to use, plus more. YBA is a founding partner of this community-powered initiative to create California’s first statewide breeding bird atlas, documenting breeding birds across the state and generating the science needed to guide habitat protection, restoration, and long-term conservation planning.
Christmas Bird Count Results. A big thank you to everyone who participated in our 55th Annual Putah Creek Christmas Bird Count on December 21st and helped to make the count a success. Eighty-five volunteers came out this year in spite of the wet and cloudy conditions. A special thanks to the 10 area leaders and, in particular, to compiler Bart Wickel, who somehow managed to pull together an amazing slide show in a very short period of time, comparing preliminary data from this year’s count with prior years, for attendees at the potluck that evening to enjoy. His full report is here.
Phenology 2025. Joe Zinkl reports that 19 phenology volunteers at Bobcat Ranch identified 107 species in 2025, including six new ones: American Barn Owl (1), Black Swift (2), Brown Creeper (1), Tennessee Warbler (1), Tricolored Blackbird (20 on 4/3/25 and 350 on 5/1/25), and Vaux’s Swift (3). This is a record species number in our over 10 years of conducting the bi-monthly surveys. Thanks to all our volunteers, and please consider volunteering yourself by contacting Sonjia Shelly for more information.
Recent Bequest. We were surprised and grateful to receive a bequest from the estate of Elizabeth Eklund Tara. The YBA Board of Directors will plan how to best spend this generous donation in a way to honor Ms. Tara.
–Genevieve Colborn and Ann Brice
A New Record!
Northern Waterthrush ©Julian Johnson
We’re so pleased to announce that Julian Johnson broke the Yolo County Big Year record in 2025! Julian recorded 275 species on eBird, the highest total any birder has reached in one year in Yolo County. Two birders had previously completed Big Years totaling 274 species: Holly Coates in 2018 and Joshua Greenfield in 2024. Some birders prefer to count their lists without including introduced species. Julian and Holly both recorded 268 native species on their Big Years, creating a tie for the record when counting “NIB” (No Introduced Birds).
Julian is a full-time undergraduate at UC Davis studying Environmental Science and Wildlife Biology. He is a volunteer with YBA in charge of the Instagram page and an Area Leader of the Putah Creek CBC. He’s a relative newcomer to birding and credits friends like Zane Pickus and the Birdwatching Club at UC Davis for whetting his appetite. He says he didn’t think of himself as a birder until spring of 2024 and didn’t even consider going for the record until the end of February 2025 when he realized he had a shot at it. Julian has quickly become a sharp birder and a teacher, as he is an officer of the Birdwatching Club at UC Davis and an undergraduate teaching assistant for the university’s ornithology class.
A Big Year requires dedication like no other birding pursuit, and Julian was focused on his goal to the very end. He submitted over 770 eBird checklists in 2025, totaling over 1000 hours of birding within the borders of Yolo County. While Julian covered every corner of the county, his most frequent birding location was the Woodland Wastewater Treatment (WTP), which he visited 134 times! This dedication to one of Yolo’s premier locations netted him a number of species not seen anywhere else during the Big Year. He also had numerous visits to local hotspots such as the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area (Bypass), Putah Creek Riparian Reserve, and Grasslands Regional Park.
The year was filled with memorable birding experiences, from exploring new places to seeing new species and birding with friends. Julian’s favorite Big Year moment was when he and Zane discovered a Sagebrush Sparrow in southern Yolo County, species number 274 for the year, on November 15th. This bird not only tied the record but was also an exceptional rarity, a second county record that brought local birders out to share in the excitement. Julian also remembers spending an evening at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife area in August photographing a Little Stint, a lost shorebird from Asia. He and Zane spent an hour laying in the mud at the edge of a rice check, waiting as the Stint gradually walked closer, at one point foraging within 20 feet.
Little Stint ©Julian Johnson
Julian found a number of important birds himself during the year, rarities that added to his total and rewarded his consistent effort. These included a Northern Waterthrush in Knights Landing, a Chestnut-sided Warbler at Elkhorn Regional Park, a Surf Scoter and Franklin’s Gull at Woodland WTP, a Sanderling at the Bypass, and a migrant Vesper Sparrow in the pasturelands of southern Yolo. He notes that the Vesper Sparrow was particularly special as it was a species he thought he might miss for the year, given that they have declined locally.
Other exciting birds Julian found while birding with friends included a Least Tern at Woodland WTP, a flyby Black Swift from atop Little Blue Ridge in northwestern Yolo County, and a Pacific Golden-Plover at the Bypass. Each of these impressive finds were a result of tireless birding dedication.
Julian’s record-breaking bird was a Red-necked Grebe on Lake Washington on December 10th, which stuck around long enough for him to chase it after completing his last final of the quarter at UC Davis. He continued to search the county for the remaining weeks in the hopes of adding one more species to his list, but when the clock struck midnight on New Year’s, Julian was proud in knowing he had set a record and greatly increased his skills as a birder.
In the end, 20 of the 275 species Julian saw last year were lifers. He says his biggest takeaway is that completing a Big Year provides deeper insight into the diversity and distribution of birds in an area, and fosters an appreciation for the birds around you. Julian’s love of birding has only grown this year, and he says that no matter the final species total, a Big Year is “a great excuse to see a ton of birds!” His positivity and excitement about birding is inspirational. Julian had plenty of support from the birding community in his quest, and we at YBA are very happy for him. Congratulations, Julian!!
–Zane Pickus