The public is invited to join the Yolo Bird Alliance at its virtual meeting. This month’s lecture features two speakers, Dr. Breanna Martinico and Mary Badger, who will talk about the decline of American Kestrels across much of North America.

According to a press release, scientists have been struggling to understand the cause of this decline. To increase our understanding of local American Kestrel populations, Dr. Martinico and Ms. Badger, along with multiple partners, launched the American Kestrel Nest Box Initiative.

In 2023, they engaged landowners and agricultural producers to install American Kestrel nest boxes on their properties, and in 2024, began monitoring 132 new and existing nest boxes in Napa, Solano and Yolo counties. They hope to gather data on Kestrel nest site selection, habitat use, and effectiveness as pest control agents on farms.

Dr. Martinico is a wildlife biologist and ecologist, specializing in ornithology. She received a Masters degree in Avian Sciences and a Ph.D. in Ecology from UC Davis. She currently works with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources department as a cooperative extension advisor for Human-Wildlife Interactions.

Badger is a Ph.D. student in the Ecology Graduate Group at UC Davis. Her research explores how climate change and human land use affect the ecology of native raptors throughout different stages of their annual life cycle.

The meeting will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m. via Zoom. For details on how to join the meeting go to yolobirdalliance.org or facebook.com/yolobirdalliance.

On Sunday, Feb. 16, the public is also invited to join Kevin Guse for a trip to one of the crown jewels of Northern California birding: Bodega Bay.

On this trip, the group will be looking for a wide variety of winter bird species, including shorebirds, gulls, loons, grebes, ducks, raptors, and wading birds. Previous trips have seen Brant, Long-tailed Duck, Red-necked Grebe, over a dozen shorebird species, and a “cormorant sweep” of Brandts, Double-crested, and Pelagic Cormorants. This trip frequently finds over seventy species and is one of Yolo Bird Alliance’s most popular events.

Birders of all ages and skill levels are welcome! Please bring binoculars, water, snacks, lunch and layers for winter weather. A spotting scope is worth bringing if you have one, though Yolo Bird Alliance will have one for the group to share. This trip will involve a mix of birding by car and a few short walks on level terrain.

High winds or significant rain will cancel this trip. This will be a full day of birding, meeting at 6:30 a.m. and returning to the meeting location by 5:30 p.m. This is a popular trip, so don’t hesitate to sign up, contact Zane Pickus to register at yolobirdalliance@gmail.com.