2020 02-28 Yolo ByPass
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We started off by scouting the Plainfield Elementary school area for hawks and had no luck at all. We then motivated over to see the owls. Things were better than usual with four owls sitting outside, or poking their heads out, of their holes. There may have been more down inside the holes of course.
The main attraction, and the biggest surprise of all, was the wonderful assemblage of wildlife we encountered at Yolo ByPass. The sky had a thin layer of overcast and there was absolutely zero wind. These factors combined to make mirror glass water conditions in the ponds. To start off with, the road that leads east from the entry lot was open as was the long east/southeast road out to what they call “rice point”. Many of the fields were flooded but only with an inch or two of water. Others had been recently drained and were extremely wet and muddy. This, along with migration routes, created a wonderland of shorebirds: dunlin flocks, American avocets, greater yellow legs, and more. The huge dunlin flocks got up off the mud and flew frequently in massive inter-twining murmurations, a beautiful sight to behold!
Overhead there was a continual and steady stream of northbound migratory Sandhill Cranes. They were in classic V-formations and honking up a storm. This blended with the singing of the red-winged blackbirds and made a wonderful auditory backdrop to the day. Along the southbound road, which is at the edge of a large pond, we photographed a single juvenile river otter. At one point, I t stopped in its track, turned and stared at me for a few seconds while I clicked. And before I forget, there was a relatively large juvenile red-tailed hawk perched on a sign that marked one of the hiking trails...very cooperative!
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Read MoreWe started off by scouting the Plainfield Elementary school area for hawks and had no luck at all. We then motivated over to see the owls. Things were better than usual with four owls sitting outside, or poking their heads out, of their holes. There may have been more down inside the holes of course.
The main attraction, and the biggest surprise of all, was the wonderful assemblage of wildlife we encountered at Yolo ByPass. The sky had a thin layer of overcast and there was absolutely zero wind. These factors combined to make mirror glass water conditions in the ponds. To start off with, the road that leads east from the entry lot was open as was the long east/southeast road out to what they call “rice point”. Many of the fields were flooded but only with an inch or two of water. Others had been recently drained and were extremely wet and muddy. This, along with migration routes, created a wonderland of shorebirds: dunlin flocks, American avocets, greater yellow legs, and more. The huge dunlin flocks got up off the mud and flew frequently in massive inter-twining murmurations, a beautiful sight to behold!
Overhead there was a continual and steady stream of northbound migratory Sandhill Cranes. They were in classic V-formations and honking up a storm. This blended with the singing of the red-winged blackbirds and made a wonderful auditory backdrop to the day. Along the southbound road, which is at the edge of a large pond, we photographed a single juvenile river otter. At one point, I t stopped in its track, turned and stared at me for a few seconds while I clicked. And before I forget, there was a relatively large juvenile red-tailed hawk perched on a sign that marked one of the hiking trails...very cooperative!
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Tringa melanoleuca Greater yellowlegs VERTICAL 2020 02-28 Yolo ByPass-b-002
Tringa melanoleuca Greater yellowlegs 2020 02-28 Yolo ByPass-b-005
2020 02-28 Yolo ByPass WEB PIX THUMBSHEET
