Wildlife Spectacles in the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area
Mike Davis – Yolo Basin Foundation Volunteer
March 6, 2025 – REGISTER

If a spectacle refers to a public display of something that is dramatically eye-catching, then there are wildlife spectacles in the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area that meet that definition. One of the most popular spectacles is the nightly exodus of great clouds of bats that leave their roost under the causeway to catch insects. The quarter of a million bats in the Wildlife Area is one of the largest bat colonies in the state. The return of King salmon to Putah Creek, which transverses the Wildlife Area, is a major celebratory event for our area. Runs of spawning salmon are one of the greatest wildlife spectacles on earth. Other spectacles include soaring white pelicans, hypnotic murmurations of blackbirds, expansive stands of the amazingly complex wildflower Downingia, and large flocks of snow geese flying in V formation, the very definition of a spectacle. But there are other spectacles that might surprise you. Join the meeting to learn more!

Mike Davis is a retired Professor and Cooperative Extension Specialist in the Department of Plant Pathology at UC Davis, where he taught plant pathology classes as well as courses on mushroom identification and cultivation. Mike is lead author of Field Guide to Mushrooms of Western North America. He has been a volunteer for the Yolo Basin Foundation for seven years and is a frequent visitor of the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area.