Regular readers of Dawn Chorus know that I live in California’s capital city, Sacramento. Most everyone in California and other Western states has dealt with drought conditions for an extended period. California was parched for the last five years. Then the rains came last year. Boy, did they ever.
California’s drought is over now, but the amount of water that arrived in the greater Sacramento region last year was staggering. Planners and engineers long ago built a series of bypasses and weirs to divert water that would otherwise flood downtown Sacramento. One of those bypasses is the Yolo Bypass. It also happens to be the largest wildlife area and prime birding location around for enthusiasts like me.
But between last December and June of this year, the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area was an inland sea. All the water that hit the Sacramento region was diverted there. The seven miles of roads within the Bypass disappeared. So did the birds. And the birders.
We missed all of the Spring migration. The amount of water covering the Wildlife Area’s 16,000 acres— 16,000 acres! — was hard to comprehend. But after 8 months, it’s finally dry again. I’ve included some before and after photos below, followed by birds I was finally able to photograph once the Bypass was reopened on June 1. (Many of the region’s birders lined up on the entrance road waiting for the gate to open at 6:00 that morning.)
Of course, returning to our region’s prime birding area in June means that we got to see only our year-round residents and then practically no one in the doldrums of July and August. We’re all waiting for the Fall migration which has already started in some areas of our region with reports of early warblers arriving.
But here are some photos I took at the Bypass in June and July. As usual, feel free to post what’s new in your birding world and use this as an Open Thread.
That’s it for me. Matching mole will be your host next Sunday and I’ll be back the week after. Share what’s going on in your birding world and have a great day!