President's Message
Happy New Year, Yolo Audubon Society!
I want to thank all the members and Yolo Audubon’s friends for your generous donations (monetary & prizes) in support of our annual fundraiser held December 6, 2017 – Thank You! I also want to thank Board Members Alison Kent, Ian Taylor, Sonija Shelly and Ann Brice, for running a smooth prize drawing.
Steve Hampton, the Yolo Audubon Christmas Bird Count Coordinator, deserves a Thank You as well for organizing another successful Putah Creek Christmas Bird Count. The Area Leaders also get a big Thank You for their efforts to organize and execute the finding & counting of avian celebrities, as well as, those “little brown jobs” in their individual areas of the ten-area Count Circle.
However, neither Steve nor the Area Leaders would be considering acceptance speeches were it not for the large group of volunteers who devoted their time and energy on December 17, to make our Count a huge success! Thank you, All!
Well, the new year is here. I have never been one to make “New Year’s Resolutions,” and I do not plan to start now. Not a resolution, but I do plan to increase my visits to the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area during 2018. Again, not a resolution because I have earned the ability to go birding whenever I chose, be it a planned outing or an impromptu idea. Because of my qualifying age of 16 yrs. or older, I purchased and just received my annual CA Department of Fish & Wildlife (CDFW) Lands Pass for 2018, so activation of my spontaneous birding gene will not be hindered.
The regulations designating the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area, and other CDFW properties as a “fee site” have been a long time coming. State wildlife areas have been financially supported by sales of hunting and fishing licenses for consumptive users, among other special funding sources, but non-consumptive users like bird watchers and naturists have not directly contributed monetary support of the areas we like to visit. Now, we who visit CDFW properties can proudly say that we are doing our part to support these wonderful areas.
Happy birding!
-- Ken Ealy, President
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Show by Yolo Audubon at
Davis Artery!
Yolo Audubon has been invited by the Artery to take a 2-week slot at the end of March and fill it with members' art and photographs. The title of the show is "For the Birds."
All birds represented should be found in Yolo County. (A photo of a bird taken outside the county, but that is nevertheless found in Yolo, could be included so long as the background is plausibly like Yolo; no Western Kingbirds taken in Central America, please!)
If you'd like to enter a photo, drawing, painting, or sculpture of a bird, please send a low-resolution photo to Ann Brice by January 31 at midnight. You are invited to send multiple photos. Judgment for inclusion in the show will be made by the end of February. Photos selected for the show should be no smaller than 8x10 and need not be framed but they must be matted.
If you'd like to sell your work, please also supply a suggested price. The Artery will take 40% of total, with 10% going to support Yolo Audubon.
We are grateful to the Artery board for this opportunity to showcase bird life in our county. |
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Conservation Corner
Friends of North Davis Ponds
The Friends of North Davis Ponds is a volunteer organization whose mission is to “protect and enhance our ponds and wildlife while developing a community.” It began four years ago with a public meeting to discuss the situation at the ponds and what people would like to have happen there. It has evolved into an example of community-based conservation, led by Yolo Audubon members.
The area includes a formal city park, a storm-water detention basin that doubles as a managed wildlife area, and an undeveloped three-acre strip alongside the wildlife area. Water management is important to the value of the ponds, and the Friends monitor water levels and advise city government on adjustments to benefit birds and other wildlife.
The Friends have worked with the city to maintain public access to the wildlife area, while protecting and improving habitat conditions. Work has included an Eagle Scout project to install nest boxes for wood ducks; an annual trash clean-up; and vigilance against vandalism.
To advertise the wildlife value of the area, there are lists of its animal species (birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes), a bulletin board, and a Facebook page. Yolo Audubon members lead monthly bird walks on the first Saturday at 9 AM. Beyond that, Jean Jackman writes a monthly article about nature at the ponds for the Davis Enterprise.
The Friends have worked extensively with the City to create a plan for the undeveloped parcel. As available land inside city limits, it has attracted numerous ideas, from housing to skate park to dog run to bicycle bridge to bluebird nest boxes. In November the City Council approved a plan to turn the parcel into a native-plant habitat area.
The next annual public meeting of the Friends of North Davis Ponds is February 25, 2018, at 3PM, at Tandem Properties, 3500 Anderson Road.
-- Michael Perrone, Conservation Chair
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Recent Sightings
 On the morning of Dec 16, birders were stunned to learn that a Citrine Wagtail, only the third in North America, was photographed the previous morning at Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area (YBWA) (MD). A mad chase ensued. Despite 50 mph winds, the bird was re-found, but only briefly, and then not seen again.
Otherwise, the month was warm and dry, and the birds responded to the new normal of a changing climate. A remarkable three species of orioles, eight species of warblers, and two vireos were present in Yolo County in December. November’s Orchard Oriole was seen by many in north Davis thru Dec 12. A pair of Hooded Orioles appear to be over-wintering nearby. And, remarkably, a young male Bullock’s Oriole was found in West Sacramento on Dec 10 (MP), a first winter record for that species. Also exceptional were a Yellow Warbler at YBWA on Dec 28 (EH) and a Wilson’s Warbler in north Davis on Dec 14 (SH). The latter was still present on Dec 27. At least eight different Black-throated Gray Warblers and three Townsend’s Warblers were also reported. Last month’s Palm Warbler at Woodland Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) remained through at least Dec 8. Building on several records the previous month, Cassin’s Vireos were found on Dec 1 in north Davis (KS) and Dec 3 at Cache Creek Preserve (BC).
Gull highlights included the Franklin’s Gull continuing at WWTP thru Dec 6, a Glaucous Gull there on Dec 8 (JH), and a Lesser Black-backed Gull at the Yolo County Landfill on Dec 17 (DW). Birders also spent much of December enjoying the Pacific Golden-Plover at WWTP thru Dec 18, and the Swamp Sparrow at YBWA continuing throughout the month. Two new discoveries were the only Pacific Wren in the county this winter, a bird in suburban east Davis on Dec 26 (MP), and a Red Fox Sparrow at the Sacramento Bypass on Dec 17 (JL).
Thanks to the following for their reports: Brent Campos (BC), Maurice DeMille (MD), Eric Haddix (EH), Steve Hampton (SH), Jim Holmes (JH), Karen Haylena (KH), Scott Hoppe (SHo), Stan Hunter (SHu), Jeri Langham (JL), Michael Perrone (MP), Kirk Swenson (KS), Dan Williams (DW).
Photos:
Citrine Wagtail: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S41115171
Yellow Warbler: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S41406509
Wilson’s Warbler: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S41361258
Cassin’s Vireo, north Davis: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S40845300
Cassin’s Vireo, Cache Creek: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S40886008
Glaucous Gull: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S40976011
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The Burrowing Owl is a publication of Yolo Audubon Society, which is a chapter of the National Audubon Society and a non-profit organization whose mission is to foster an appreciation of birds and conservation in Yolo County.
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