My spouse and I used to spend New Year’s Day at the movies. When the pandemic closed the theaters in 2020, we decided to spend the day checking out the local birds instead. After a leisurely morning watching the Rose Parade last Monday, I wandered over to the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area to check out the local peeps.
A recent rain left part of the auto tour closed but I was glad to see a lot more water in the ponds. They are still pretty low but there was enough water to attract plenty of the migratory birds.
The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge. We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns.
We invite you to note what you are seeing around you in your own part of the world, and to share your observations in the comments below.
Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the phenological patterns that are quietly unwinding around us. To have the Daily Bucket in your Activity Stream, visit Backyard Science’s profile page and click on Follow.
As I drove atop the levee to get down into the bypass, I saw a Red Tail Hawk relaxing in a tree right at my eye level.
The first pond I viewed had been dry my last visit but was now partially filled.
I drove the alternate auto route and came across a couple of my favorite birds.
I had limited time because the sun was already starting to drop. I drove past flooded rice paddies and ponds and noted the following:
As the sun set, I looked up in a tree and saw a raptor silhouette. Too big for a Kestrel and too small for a RT Hawk. It’s a Merlin — a new lifer for me on the first day of the year.
Last year at this time, Northern California was being blasted by an atmospheric river of storms. We had 17 straight days of rain and high winds with broken levees, flooded neighborhoods, dozens of trees toppling into buildings and on top of cars. Massive flooding closed freeways and some major streets. The Cosumnes River Preserve was under 8 feet of water and the Yolo Bypass filled with excess floodwaters and ended up being closed for 3 months.
This year, it looks like we are settling into a pattern of alternating days of sun and rain. We are getting needed rain and snow at a much slower pace. I hope this pattern continues for the next two months so that we get enough rain and snow but not too much all at once.
What’s up in your neck of the woods?