The Davis Wetlands emerged as one of the premier birding sites in the Sacramento Valley even prior to its opening to the public on June 1, 2000. In 1999, bird surveys and field trips by various organizations revealed an amazing diversity of bird life. In fact, in just two years, the Wetlands seemingly surpassed all other locations in Yolo County in terms of the number of bird records (high counts, new records, early/late dates, etc.) generated from it. And the vegetation is yet to really establish itself.

Nearly all of the records come from Storm Pond, which is intentially managed to create mudflats in the summer and fall. Not only has this attracted an enormous array of shorebirds, but has also enticed a wide variety of other birds (e.g., pelicans, ibis, egrets, ducks, gulls, and terns) to roost and forage on the flats.

The Davis Wetlands are open daily 7am-1pm from Feb 16 to Aug 31, and Mondays only (same hours) from Sept 1 to Feb 15.

The Wetlands are located at the east end of Rd 28H. Enter near the Davis Wastewater Treatment Plant office. Sign in at the kiosk. Do not be deterred by the closed gate; it is kept latched but unlocked during open hours. Please close it behind you and latch it as you enter and exit.

ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS

COUNTY RECORDS

YEAR 2004 Eurasian Green-winged Teal YEAR 2003 Sanderling Ruff YEAR 2002 Stilt Sandpiper Ruddy Turnstone Buff-breasted Sandpiper Sabine's Gull Swamp Sparrow YEAR 2001 Least Tern YEAR 2000 Long-tailed Jaeger Franklin's Gull Common Tern American Golden-Plover YEAR 1999 Little Gull Franklin's Gull Common Tern Ruff Pacific Golden-Plover American Golden-Plover Stilt Sandpiper Ruddy Turnstone Northern Shrike YEAR 1998 Ruddy Turnstone

FIRST COUNTY RECORDS Little Gull (March 10, 1999) Long-tailed Jaeger (June 9, 2000) Least Tern (July 10, 2001) Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Sept 2, 2002) 2nd-6th COUNTY RECORDS Franklin's Gull Little Gull Common Tern Ruff Great-tailed Grackle FIRST COUNTY BREEDING RECORDS Blue-winged Teal (2000) Clark's Grebe (2003) FIRST MID-SUMMER RECORDS Clark's Grebe (1999) Blue-winged Teal (2000) Common Goldeneye (1999) Bufflehead (1999) Lesser Scaup (2001) Semipalmated Plover (2000) Red-necked Phalarope (2000) Bonaparte's Gull (2000)