News
Delaying harvest has helped blackbird populations
1+ hour, 59+ min ago (1038+ words) Merced County farmer Luciana Jonkman first saw the signs of tricolored blackbirds returning to her farm in late February. She'd already noticed a few carrying nesting materials as they flew overhead. Her crops'mostly wheat, corn and oats grown as feed…...
Wildflowers are blooming in the driest place in North America — but not for long
5+ day, 2+ hour ago (575+ words) Wildflowers bloom across parts of southern California and Nevada at different degrees usually every year. In some years, superblooms are so vibrant they can be seen from space. But it's rare for Death Valley National Park, the hottest place on…...
For frigid East it may be hard to fathom, but the US had its second-warmest winter on record
5+ day, 14+ hour ago (200+ words) For frigid East it may be hard to fathom, but the US had its second-warmest winter on record'Daily Democrat By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer It may be cold comfort for Americans in the East and Midwest who shivered through…...
Help count birds for science during Audubon’s 126th Christmas Bird Count
2+ mon, 4+ week ago (466+ words) For the 126th year, the National Audubon Society is organizing the annual Christmas Bird Count. On Friday, Jan. 2, birders and nature enthusiasts in Woodland and Davis will join this tradition that has lasted over 12 decades. "Data collected by participants over the…...
Study calculates cost of an expanding wolf population
10+ mon, 3+ week ago (825+ words) Motion-activated field cameras, GPS collars, wolf scat analysis and cattle tail hair samples are helping University of California, Davis, researchers shed new light on how an expanding and protected gray wolf population is affecting cattle operations, leading to millions of…...
Yolo Bird Alliance to offer free lecture on Feb. 18
1+ mon, 20+ hour ago (223+ words) Yolo Bird Alliance to offer free lecture on Feb. 18Daily Democrat Yolo Bird Alliance is inviting the public to attend the free monthly general meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 18, featuring a presentation by Dr. Kevin Ringelman, assistant professor of Wildlife Ecology at…...
New Cache Creek Watershed Stewardship Group launched
6+ mon, 1+ day ago (355+ words) Residents throughout the lower Cache Creek watershed " which follows Cache Creek from the Lake County line to where it crosses Interstate-5 " will soon have an opportunity to participate in protecting their local waterway through the newly formed Cache Creek Watershed…...
Winner of the 6th annual First-Bumble Bee-of-the-Year Contest receives prized cup
1+ mon, 1+ week ago (207+ words) A bumble bee enthusiast of Sacramento, who won the 2026 Robbin Thorp Memorial First-Bumble-Bee-of-the-Year Contest, received her prize'a Bohart Museum of Entomology coffee cup designed with the bumble bee that Thorp studied'on a recent visit to the Bohart Museum. Presenting the…...
Column: Winter rains won’t dampen summer fires
1+ mon, 2+ week ago (645+ words) It was truly amazing this month when the U.S. Drought Monitor reported that not a single square mile of California is categorized as dry for the first time in 25 years. As of Dec. 30, 2025, the state was effectively out of drought across…...
A microbial blueprint for climate-smart cows
3+ mon, 3+ week ago (352+ words) Each year, a single cow can belch about 200 pounds of methane. The powerful greenhouse gas is 27 times more potent at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. For decades, scientists and farmers have tried to find ways to reduce…...