Nature notes
By Mike Davis, UC Davis Professor Emeritus
Photo by

Raccoon Roundworm
When we visit the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area, most of us expect to see some bird life while being ever

The Yin and the Yang of Bats
There’s something thrilling about being in the presence of wildlife in huge numbers. A colony of about 250,000 Mexican free-tailed

Pallid-winged Grasshopper
You have seen these 1½ inch-long grasshoppers in the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area, in a vacant lot, or in your

Vernal Pools
Vernal pools are ephemeral, springtime, shallow, surface bodies of water perched on some kind of impermeable soil layer that limits

A Lizard’s Third Eye
Most lizards have a bona fide eye in the center of the top of their heads. It’s called the parietal

American Bullfrog
At eight inches in length and a weight of more than a pound, the American bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana or Lithobates

Do Birds Sleep While Flying?
Birds famously fly long distances. Many ducks in the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area spend their summers 2,000 miles away in

Biodiversity in the Wetlands
One fine fall day you visit the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area to see what you can see. There is a
