Yolo Basin Foundation

Flyway Nights recording is now on YouTube - Restoring Common Murres to Devil’s Slide Rock: A forty-year history of seabird conservation along the central California coast Michael Parker California Institute of Environmental Studies Devil’s Slide Rock is a small nearshore islet located in San Mateo County. Despite its small size, this rock has become a significant symbol for seabird conservation. We invite you to join us for the story detailing the history of the murre colo...ny at Devil’s Slide Rock. We will explore the decline and eventual extirpation of nearly 3,000 murres from this colony due to anthropogenic factors occurring in the 1980s, explain efforts started in the mid-1990s to use a novel restoration technique, known as social attraction (decoys, recorded vocalizations, and other props), to re-establish murre nesting at this colony, and discuss current efforts to protect this and other seabird colonies along the central California coast. Mike worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Complex when he led the Common Murre Restoration Project from 1996 until 2002. Currently Mike works for the California Institute of Environmental Studies, a non-profit organization based in Davis that is dedicated to advancing the conservation of coastal and marine birds and healthy ecosystems through sound science, restoration, partnership, and community outreach. https://youtu.be/tLi2uyWpTbk See more

Next time you visit the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area, look for the new Auto Tour Loop signs! Thank you for respecting your local wetlands and wildlife!

The recovery of the Common Murre at Devil's Slide Rock is a fascinating story. We have the chance to learn first hand from one of the main biologists about the work to help the recovery. Thursday - Feb 4 at 7:00 http://yolobasin.org/flywaynights/ Flyway Nights is a monthly speaker series highlighting environmental issues, current research topics in conservation, and natural history of Northern California. Talks are scheduled at 7 p.m. on the first Thursday of the month from ...November through April. This year’s events are going virtual, via Zoom. Pre-registration will be required to receive event link. Flyway Nights is free to Yolo Basin Foundation members and open to the public. A $5 donation is suggested for non-members. You can read a bit about the project at https://projectpuffin.audubon.org//celebrating-20-years-se

Restoring Common Murres to Devil’s Slide Rock: A forty-year history of seabird conservation along the central California coast Flyway Nights Feb 4 at 7:00 pm Michael Parker California Institute of Environmental Studies Devil's Slide Rock may be a small island near San Francisco but it is extremely important to the Common Murre. A thriving colony of 3000 nested here until a combination of gill-net fishery and spill of crude oil led to them abandoning the Rock. Learn about the work of the biologists to help this area recover and bring Common Murre back to Devil's Slide Rock.

Great fun at the pond, even virtually. If desired we provide critter identification cards in advance so participants can follow along and guess what we see. Great program for groups of kids or groups of adults. Who doesn't love the pond! register your group http://yolobasin.org/virtualdtf/

One of our most popular Discover the Flyway activities is Wetland Pond Study. It is amazing what we can still show the students virtually. We use a little webcam in addition to the iPad and still photos so the participants can see the animals swimming. This activity also is popular with adults. Maybe you have a group that would like to learn more about the pond. http://yolobasin.org/virtualdtf/

If you missed our first virtual tours of the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area and of the City of Davis Wetlands or would like to share these at home adventures with friends, these tours are now available online at any time on our YouTube Channel. Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area Wetland Tour: https://youtu.be/eL6xK_1GVXs... City of Davis Wetland Tour: https://youtu.be/lv6ZCIbQM0U Enjoy! The next live virtual wetland tour is February 13, Saturday at 10:00 am. Visit here to register: http://yolobasin.org/virtualwetlandtours/

Learn more at Flyway Nights this Thursday 7:00 PM Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area Infrastructure Improvements Have you been out to the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area lately and wondered about the two new bridges? The bridges at the Y and the Rice Corner are part of a plan to improve the water system on the Wildlife Area. The most important task in managing wetlands and rice is the ability to move water on and off a field in a timely manner. The two new bridges are really large conc...rete culverts that move water from the South Davis Drain to the Toe Drain by way of a complicated system of canals. The system improvements also include moving the pump at the Y so that flood up of the adjacent wetlands is more efficient. Several thousand feet of ditches were widened as part of the project. The project also included installation of a pump on the west side of the Central Unit. The pump is now flooding up 120 acres of new wetlands! The water system improvements that were completed in October are complicated to plan and build. A unique partnership made these projects possible. Yolo Basin Foundation worked with Department of Fish and Wildlife, Yolo County, Ducks Unlimited and Metropolitan Water District to get the projects funded, engineered, permitted and built. The Delta Conservancy, Wildlife Conservation Board and Department of Fish and Wildlife provided grant funding. MWD funded engineering services. Ducks Unlimited received the grants as the project manager and ultimately managed the construction that began in June of this year. Hopefully the improvements will make Wildlife Area staff’s work a little bit easier while improving the wetlands for birds and people. The beavers that spent their nights blocking up the old culvert at the Y have their work cut out for them! http://yolobasin.org/flywaynights/

Here's how we do Virtual Discover the Flyway. This is our Patwin Life - Acorn Season station. If the teacher is able to distribute items to the students ahead of the program, then we deliver acorns so each child can hold and break open an acorn during the station. The talent is a docent who talks with the students, shows the various items and describes the process of preparing acorn as food. The videographer runs the iPad, makes sure it is centered, helps focus on the various items on display. The image moderator periodically shares still photos since somethings don't show up clearly via iPad to Zoom school. Some days we also have extra support, too, or docents who are shadowing to learn. Find out more, Register your class http://yolobasin.org/virtualdtf/

Did you miss it? Peaks, Valleys, and Farms: Insights into the complex heritage of Western red foxes Flyway Nights Speaker Series is now available on YouTube by Sophie Preckler-Quisquater, UC Davis Mammalian Ecology and Conservation Unit https://youtu.be/Wt4ohyRGNY8

The Birds Along the Capitol Corridor Route webinar, a partner webinar between Yolo Basin Foundation and Amtrak, was recorded and is currently available to watch via YouTube. Enjoy!

Please join us tomorrow, Saturday, December 5 with Corridor Conversations, a webinar series for Birds Along the Capitol Corridor Route at 11:00 am.

Join us this Thursday, Dec 3rd for this month's Virtual Flyway Nights. Our speaker is Sophie Preckler-Quisquater of the UC Davis Mammalian Ecology and Conservation Unit. She will share about this endemic fox and some of it's struggles. Maybe we will hear more about the one that visits our demonstration area and leaves us scat - always a hit with the kids! REGISTER at http://yolobasin.org/flywaynights/

Thank you Ecosystem Investment Partners for being Pacific Flyway Sponsors for this year's Bucks for Ducks! yolobasin.org/bucksforducks

6th graders from Woodland learn about wetland plants virtually. Here is a sample of how we still share the importance of Wetlands. Support our program at our virtual on line auction Bucks for Ducks

Bucks for Ducks support our education programs

Can you name five reasons that wetlands are important? Do you know how water moves through the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area to irrigate rice fields and create seasonal wetland habitat? Wondering what all the construction in the Wildlife Area was about this summer? Watch today's Bucks for Ducks "Welcome to the Wetlands and the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area" video to hear the answers to these questions and more! https://youtu.be/xI-HyF6_tjk

Thank you Vic Fazio and Kathy Sawyer for being Pacific Flyway Sponsors of this year's Bucks for Ducks!Thank you Vic Fazio and Kathy Sawyer for being Pacific Flyway Sponsors of this year's Bucks for Ducks!

Tomorrow is the start of the Bucks for Ducks online silent auction! You can go ahead and register at http://bucksforducks.ggo.bid to be ready to bid on the online silent auction items when they go live at 7a.m. on Monday, November 9. Photos, artwork, experiences, and many unique items! Larger images of each item can be viewed at yolobasin.org. Thanks for supporting Yolo Basin Foundation!

Many thanks to this year’s Bucks for Ducks Wetlands Education Sponsors! Your support is so appreciated! Join us for Bucks for Ducks Nov. 9-15! Info at yolobasin.org/bucksforducks Ascent Environmental... #bartkiewiczkronickshanahan #calmarshandfarmventures California Rice Commission #davidsengineering Downey Brand four waters media #harrisontembladorhungerfordjohnson #hthjlaw #northerncalifoniawaterassociation #northwesthydraulicconsultants Nugget Markets Teichert #teichertmaterials Ullrich Delevati, CPAs #watercourseengineering Western Bat Specialists / C. Wright & Wright Enterprises Inc #westernbatspecialists See more

Thank you, John Nichols Artworks, for painting and donating this gorgeous sunset for this year's Bucks for Ducks event image! Bid on the original "Yolo Reflections" during our Bucks for Ducks live auction on Saturday, November 14 at 6pm! Event info at yolobasin.org/bucksforducks @johnnicholsartworks

Bucks for Ducks would not be possible without our wonderful sponsors. Thanks to our Wildlife Sponsors for your support! Nov. 9-15 event details at yolobasin.org/bucksforducks GEI Consultants, Inc. ... HDR See more

How To Host a Virtual Bucks for Ducks Watch Party! Our Bucks for Ducks showcase event is on Saturday, November 14. Although we’re virtual this year, you can still host a table and invite your friends to join youall for free! Here are a few tips for holding a Bucks for Ducks watch party: 1. Pick your platform. Many people are comfortable with Zoom, but free accounts are limited to 40 minutesnot quite enough time for the whole Bucks for Ducks event. You can use an existing ...paid plan, buy an unlimited plan for one month for $15, or try another service like Google Hangouts or Skype. 2. Invite your friends to join you at [link to your online chat room/Zoom meeting] between 5:30 and 7:00 for socializing, a live stream event, and online fund-a-need and live auctions. 3. Food and drink. There are a few ways to handle this. If you’d like to host, arrange for a meal from a local restaurant that people can pre-order and pick up. Alternatively, you can work with Door Dash to give each of your guests a food credit so they can order from their own favorite restaurant and have food delivered. Other options we’ve seen at parties include sending guests a meal or drink recipe and then preparing the recipe together on Zoom, arranging for a wine or beer pick-up and virtual tasting, and encouraging guests to BYOB to the party! 4. Decorate! Pick a theme for the party and encourage everyone to dress up and decorate their backgrounds accordingly. Nature-inspired themes could include Sunset in the Wetlands, Bats in the Bypass, Wetland Fairies, Pond Explorers, Everything Ducky, and Fish Tales. 5. Log on early. Get your chat platform online about 5:15 on the night of the party. When Bucks for Ducks starts, you log on to the live stream (link will be available on yolobasin.org/bucksforducks) and share your screen with your guests. They will be able to see you, each other and the live stream on the same screen. You can also control the volume of the audio of the live stream so that your guests can talk to each other. 6. Encourage two screens. Guests will find it easier to participate in the online auctions if they have the auction site (https://bucksforducks.ggo.bid/) up on a second screen, which could be a phone, tablet, or computer. It may be easier than toggling back and forth on one screen. 7. Talk about your why. Use this opportunity to talk to your guests about why you are involved with the Yolo Basin Foundation and why the Foundation and the wetlands are important to our region. Invite them to participate in the fund-a-need and auctions and to become members. Thanks for your support! We can’t wait for you to join us on Saturday, November 14! *Yolo Reflections, painted and generously donated by John Nichols.* The original will be auctioned off on November 14!

Reminder - the event starts in 25 minutes http://yolobasin.org/flywaynights/

Thank you Lindsay Anne Weston, John D. De Wit Farms, and Robin Kulakow & Bill Julian for being 2020 Bucks for Ducks Wetlands Conservation Sponsors! We couldn’t do it without you! Event details at yolobasin.org/bucksforducks.

A big thank you to Ecosystem Investment Partners for being a Pacific Flyway Sponsor for this year’s virtual Bucks for Ducks event! Bucks for Ducks ~ November 9-15 Event info at yolobasin.org/bucksforducks