August 5, 2005
Blue birds, butterflies and bats
After years of trying, Steve Hampton managed to locate a Yellow-billed Cuckoo in Yolo County - no small feat! Four of us were hot on the trail of this bird, but in spite of 2 hours searching and climbing through reams of spider webs (not recommended), we were unable to relocate it. However, the riparian habitat had many other things to offer, including great views of singing Blue Grosbeaks...
... and Lazuli Buntings.
I saw several of these pretty checkerspot butterflies, but as I haven't got round to buying a butterfly guide yet, don't know what it is. Any ideas?
Monarchs are always a pleasure to see, and I'm noticing them in increasing numbers at the moment - are we seeing the first wave of migrants?
That evening, I caught up with one of the more impressive natural phenomena in our region - the mass emergence of millions of Mexican Free-tailed Bats from under the Yolo Bypass. This rather shaky photo was taken leaning out of the car window travelling at 60mph!
