Friends of North Davis Ponds

Thursday volunteers are making slow but steady progress in pulling weeds at our new Uplands Habitat while listening to lots of bird sounds You, too can join in the fun on Thursday mornings, wearing masks, at 9 a.m. We weed for a couple of hours or whatever time you can spare. No longer need to go through Covid training. Six of us worked April 15, 2021. We love protecting all of the beautiful lupine and other wildflowers blooming out there. We have 5 new nestboxes and all have... been claimed one by Western Bluebirds and four by Tree Swallows. Also, at a recent bird survey done by Joshua Greenfield and Kelli O’Neill, 29 bird species were tallied in our new 3 acres of Uplands habitat. For more information, contact [email protected] Photos: Robert Weidenfeld, dependably shows up at the Uplands and at several other spots around town to weed. Larry Snyder weeds at the Uplands and is the guy responsible for taking care of over 300 milkweed plants at the Davis Ditch. And, he just spotted and photographed the first Monarch, something rarely sighted in years of late. Rachel Aptekar is a new and welcome addition to the Thursday weeders. She served in the past on the Open Space Commission.

Hello Friends, High bird migration over Davis tonight! https://birdcast.info/migration-tools/live-migration-maps/

Uplands Habitat - North Davis Ponds, Yolo, California, US Apr 8, 2021 8:05 AM - 9:10 AM Protocol: Traveling 0.4 mile(s) Checklist Comments: Josh Greenfield and ...Kelli O'Neill surveyed the Uplands Habitat. Clear sky, no wind, temp 40-50 F. 27 species (+1 other taxa) Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) 10 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 2 Mourning Dove 6 Anna's Hummingbird 2 gull sp. 1 Green Heron 1 Swainson's Hawk 4 Nuttall's Woodpecker 1 Black Phoebe 1 Say's Phoebe 1 California Scrub-Jay 3 American Crow 2 Tree Swallow 16 Barn Swallow 1 Bushtit 1 House Wren 1 European Starling 5 Northern Mockingbird 2 Western Bluebird 2 Cedar Waxwing 40 House Finch 4 Lesser Goldfinch 18 American Goldfinch 10 White-crowned Sparrow (Gambel's) 10 Golden-crowned Sparrow 4 Savannah Sparrow 13 Lincoln's Sparrow 6 Red-winged Blackbird (California Bicolored) 8

Two awesome volunteers, Kelli O'Neill and Robert Weidenfeld, together bagged 14 bags of horrible knotweed to clear the walking paths at the North Davis Uplands Habitat. Plus, they pushed to not use plastic so Open Space Coordinator is putting a bin for the weeds and wheelbarrows to get it there. Progress. Thanks to two wonderful volunteers.

Many thanks to the new regular weeders out at the Uplands Habitat on F & Anderson. July 30, 2020, Gayna Lamb-Bang, Jo Ellen Ryan, Gene Trapp, Robert Weidenfeld, Alan Jackman & Jean Jackman bagged nine bags of the dreadful knot weed. If you are someone who wants to weed in the future, please contact [email protected]

Mid June, Neil Ed Hubbard photographed this Gallinule and baby. Hope they are still with us in addition to two families of Wood Ducks birthed in June.

Neil Ed Hubbard said, "Look who is visiting again. And noisy as ever." So keep your eyes open looking for this handsome Belted Kingfisher. Thanks Ed!

Thank you, Tania, for the question. We know what hawk this is photographed at Putah Creek Reserve, but we'll pose this as a quiz to our friends here! Do you know what hawk this is often seen at NDP?

Dear Friends of North Davis Ponds, We hope that you are all doing well during these troubling times. There will be no monthly bird stroll in June and probably none until further notice due to social distancing. However, thanks to photography of Neil "Ed" Hubbard we can get some close up glimpses of exciting things still happening at the ponds. Wood Duck babies with 2 families. Pied-billed Grebes nesting are two of the highlights. At the Pond column will now only be avail...able online due to a shrinking newspaper; a result of shrinking ad revenues. However, online usually enables more photos so if you have some to share, please send them along. (Many feature columns have been cut from the physical newspaper.) Be well and wash your hands, Jean Jackman 2 Wood Duck families and Pied-billed Grebes with 3 eggs in part of the pond to the left from the shorter overlook. Photos Ed Hubbard

Dear Friends, Sorry to share this. :(

Salutations to mothers of all kinds. This photo was not taken at North Davis Ponds, but there are mothers hard at work all around. Hope you all have a lovely day! If you have something memorable to share about Mother's Day at NDP, please feel free to do so here in the comments. <3

Dear Friends, Sad news about the young bear. :( We thank our friends from West Pond for sharing these lovely photos.

Hey Friends of the North Davis Ponds, Hope that you are doing well during these pandemic times. There's a lot to see out at the ponds. Canada Geese goslings, turtles, Western Bluebirds, Tree Swallows. 14 of 17 nestboxes are occupied. The photograph of the Western Bluebird was taken by Melanie Truan on April 15th. So look for juveniles soon. Neil Ed Hubbard caught the noisy Great Tailed Grackle April 16th. I took the other photo. Sorry that we have to cancel First Saturd...ay Bird Stroll once again in May. WHO KNOWS what June will be like. In the meantime, aren't we lucky to have pond destinations and paths to stroll on. Look up...at the Swainson's Hawks. Also, about 8 people have reported sightings of Bald Eagles along Sycamore Avenue and other places in North Davis so keep your eyes open. My backyard has had so many Red-breasted Nuthatch and the other day, a Black-headed Grosbeak. Enjoy our beautiful weather and nature. Something to be grateful for. Jean Jackman

UPDATE: The bear likes West Pond and is still out there! The plan is still in place for tonight, and you can read it here: Latest scoop on the young Black Bear ...at West Pond! John McNerney, the city's Wildlife Resource Specialist, tells us this: We'll be closing the greenbelt path this evening from 6pm to 8am. We are hoping that reducing human activity along the path will encourage the bear to leave the basin and either leave town or locate to a spot where we can more safely capture it. We'll be posting barricades and signs up later this afternoon...electronic messaging will go out shortly. Go Bear! See more

Bear spotted in West Davis this morning.

Good news from Melanie Truan on the nest boxes! Hi! Alison and I checked all the boxes in the Covell Greenbelt yesterday and found 14 out of 19 boxes occupied, by either Western Bluebirds or Tree Swallows, including five 1-2 day old bluebirds at CG1! Four of the five upland boxes have Tree Swallow nests but no eggs yet. Exciting! Heartening! And from me, Jean, 2 Canada Geese families with goslings at the Partansky Pond.