Magnolia Warbler; © Bart Wickel
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 lucky when the third record […]
Sandhill Cranes at Staten Island; © JoAnne Fillatti
The cranes are arriving in northern California. Hundred of birds can currently be seen at Staten Island now that the corn harvest is underway, and the numbers will soon grow to thousands. The Cosumnes River Preserve website provides good information on where to see the birds and includes a map. It’s fascinating to watch the cranes interact! News from […]
Blackpoll Warbler; © Frank Fabbro
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 September in Yolo County, Putah […]
Black-throated Gray Warbler; © Ann Brice
Near the north edge of Yolo County, a little-known birding hotspot lies along County Road 98A where it meets State Highway 45. A grove of big valley oaks along the highway tapers into a line of trees, mainly along the east side of the road, with a wide drainage canal downslope along the west side. […]
Tree Swallow Nestlings; © Ina Rommeck
Fall is almost here—warblers are stopping by the water feature in my yard—so it’s time to gear up for birding! John Mott-Smith has assembled a great series of field trips this season, with Covid precautions. Please check out the details on the Yolo Audubon website as they become available. While you’re on the website, take a look […]
Snowy Plover at Yolo Bypass; © Zane Pickus
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 they took refuge in the […]
Cattle and Lupines, Bobcat Ranch; © Dash Weidhofer
Why does Audubon California support cattle ranching, when some believe that cattle production and beef consumption are bad for the planet? For an answer, look no further than the hills northwest of Winters, to Bobcat Ranch. Although it may look like an ordinary cattle ranch, its grazing program aims to improve the biological diversity of its […]
Yolo Audubon gave one of its small grants ($2,000) to Yolo Basin Foundation’s Discover the Flyway school program this year. The focus of our funding was on birds and their habitats. The Foundation conducted their entire school program virtually and did an amazing job! We are very proud to support them.
Here is the Grant Report that Yolo Basin Foundation recently provided us:
Submitted by Sonjia Shelly, YAS Board In early 2020, the Yolo Audubon Society board was approached by two local organizations (Friends of North Davis Channel and Woodland Regional Preserve) to fund and install song bird nest boxes in their respective areas. The YAS board provided the funding for needed materials, and a group of volunteers […]
Cassin's Finch (female); © Bart Wickel
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 us in May. The fourth […]
Mountain Quail; © Sean Smith
It’s hard to believe, but we’ve reached the end of the Yolo Audubon 2020-2021 season. This is our last newsletter until September. Thank you for sticking with us through these unsettled times. We’ve had record attendance at our Zoom monthly meetings and are in the process of trying to decide what to do starting in the […]
Semipalmated Sandpiper; © Zane Pickus
Combined with the wastewater treatment ponds next door, North Regional Pond is a top birding destination in Yolo County. With 210 species recorded in eBird*, it is one of only eight sites in Yolo with over two hundred kinds of birds. In the last year it has offered us rarities such as surf scoter, red-breasted […]