Location: Beginning in Winters
Trip Leader(s): John Klobas & Sarah Brooks
Start Date: Saturday, January 25, 2020
Start Time: 8:00 AM
End Time: 3:00 PM
Description: Located within a one and one-half hour drive of many North Bay locations, Yolo County offers diverse habitats ranging from Coast Range mountains to near sea level agricultural lands of the Sacramento Valley. This one-day trip will visit prime birding sites in western Yolo County during the height of winter bird diversity and numbers. We will meet in Winters where we will introduce our itinerary for the day and our target birds for the morning at Lake Solano Park. This park straddles both Yolo and Solano counties along Putah Creek at the base of the Coast Range. We will bird both outside and inside the park ($6/car day use fee) and, weather permitting, have lunch there, as well. Specialties here include Hooded Merganser, Barrow’s Goldeneye, Phainopepla, Wood Duck, various raptors, perhaps even Pileated and Lewis’s Woodpecker. After lunch we will walk along Putah Creek watching for both water and land birds. The day will conclude with a stop at a raptor hot spot near Woodland where overwintering specialties may include Ferruginous Hawk among several raptor species. The companion trip to this day features eastern Yolo County and is scheduled for Saturday, February 22, 2020. This trip begins in Davis. Directions: We will meet at Rotary Park located at Main and Railroad Streets in Winters. From Marin take Highway 101 North to Highway 37. Then exit onto Highway I-80 East. In approximately 22 miles, take Exit 56 at Vacaville to merge onto I-505 North toward Redding. Take the Highway 128 exit (west toward Lake Berryessa) from Highway I-505. Take a left over the freeway, then stay on Highway 128 until the light at Railroad Avenue. Turn left (south), travel 2 blocks to the intersection of Railroad and Main. Rotary Park is at the south side of this intersection. We will meet at the gazebo in the park.