Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area
[1] The California Department of Fish and Wildlife and Yolo Basin Foundation are the core partners in the operation of this resource located at 38°33′02″N 121°37′35″W / 38.550515°N 121.626291°W / 38.550515; -121.626291 The wildlife area was open to the public in 1997 after extensive restoration efforts completed by Ducks Unlimited with federal funds appropriated through the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
These ponds provide important brood water for resident aquatic birds such as mallards, common moorhens and pied-billed grebes.
Upland habitats are used extensively by ground nesting birds such northern harriers, western meadowlarks, mallards and ring-necked pheasant.
Nesting species here include Swainson's hawks, great-horned owls, wood ducks, tree swallows, and black phoebe.
Located at the north end of the Yolo Basin where Putah Creek enters the Yolo Bypass, this part of the Delta is known as the Putah Sinks and hosts a diverse assemblage of wildlife species inhabiting seasonal wetlands, permanent wetlands, riparian forest, uplands, vernal pools and agricultural habitats.
In the northern portions of the wildlife area, rice is grown, which is then flooded after harvest, attracting thousands of waterfowl and shorebirds in view of the automobiles on Interstate 80.
Other public use opportunities are provided by the Yolo Basin Foundation and Fish and Wildlife including bat tours, open houses and a speaker series.
Hunting for waterfowl, pheasant and mourning dove is conducted in specific area by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife during the fall and winter months.
The "Discover the Flyway" environmental education program annually brings approximately 4,000 students per year to learn about wetlands and visit the wildlife area.
Their removal of thatch from the thick stands of annual rye grass help facilitate the germination of native forbs in this area, resulting in spectacular blooms of wildflowers each spring.
At the very bottom of the Tule Ranch is the Fireman's Club, a square mile of property that contains a historic slough that once drained into the Yolo Basin.
