Category: News

Davis, Calif., (April 6, 2017) – Bats, those night-flying creatures of horror film fame, are beginning to migrate back to the Central Valley. It is an annual journey for most bats, flying south for the winter and returning home in the spring to their birth place to roost and give birth to their own pups during the summer.

“I’m getting a number of calls from people who see bats and are worried about them,” said Rachael Long, UC Cooperative Extension advisor for Sacramento, Solano and Yolo counties. “If people see bats on the ground or tucked into eaves, they’re likely resting, not sick, from their long migration north.”

Because the insect-eating winged mammals are important allies to U.S. farmers, Long hopes people won’t harm the bats while they are tired and vulnerable. Bats feed on some of the most damaging crop pests – including the moths of cutworms and armyworms – which helps to protect food crops naturally.

Farmers appreciate the pest control provided by bats and many look forward to having bats return to their farms each year, according to Long, who coauthored a study of farmer perceptions of wildlife recently published online in Conservation Letters, a journal of the Society for Conservation Biology.

“Most of the farmers surveyed reported that they like bats and the pest control and crop protection services they provide,” Long said. “Many put up bat boxes on their farms to provide a home for them.”

In their long journey north, bats need to rest along the way. Sometimes they turn up in areas where they’re not wanted, such as in a corner of a porch or in an eave. The presence of bats is often revealed by their mouse-like droppings, or guano.

“In the sun, the guano sparkles, as it’s made of bits of insect parts, making it a good source of nitrogen for plants,” Long said.

Bats live for about 30 years and bear only one pup a year. Males roost independently of females and their pups, so if you see a lone bat, it’s likely a bachelor.

“If you find a bat, please leave it alone if it’s not bothering anyone because it may be perfectly healthy, just tired,” Long said. “A farmer somewhere may be waiting for that bat to come home to help protect crops from insects.”

If you see a bat on the ground, Long suggests placing a box over it and calling a wildlife rescue organization, such as Northern California Bats in Davis. She recommends wildlife rescue because animal control officers must euthanize all bats they catch to test for rabies, which may be unnecessary unless a person or a pet had contact with the bat.

Sacramento, Calif., (April 5, 2017) – A gradual warming trend throughout the week was felt as the transition to spring weather and drier conditions continued.

Light showers associated with a departing system affected the state on Monday along the Sierra foothills into the northern mountains, with another system bringing additional light rains mid-week. Precipitation was light this week across the state. Tuesday was a dry day, with Wednesday and Thursday seeing widespread moderate rains across the eastern half of the valley, Sierras, and northern and northwestern mountains. Most areas in the mountains received up to one inch of rain, with the eastern valley seeing closer to a quarter inch. Temperatures were still cold enough at the higher elevations in the mountains to squeeze out some additional snow this week. Flurries and snow showers were seen in the northern mountains on Monday with little to no accumulation. Wednesday and Thursday brought four to eight inches of new snowfall at elevations over 8500 feet in the northern mountains Sierras, with two to four inches in the higher elevations around Mt. Whitney. Overall warm temperatures led to continued snowmelt at all locations, with snow cover restricted to elevations above 6,000 feet. Snowpacks were still very thick with five to six feet in the southern Sierras, eight to twelve feet in the central Sierras, and ten to fifteen feet in the northern mountains.

Temperature highs were in the 40s to 60s in the mountains, 50s to 80s along the coast, 60s to 80s in the valley, and 60s to 90s in the desert. The temperature lows were in the 10s to 40s in the mountains, 30s to60s in the desert, 30s to 50s in the Valley, and 40s to 50s along the coast.

In the San Joaquin Valley silage and alfalfa’s first cutting was done.

Field work in vineyards including pruning, tying, berm sanitation, and brush shredding was winding down as bud break progressed in vineyards. Cherries and some early varieties of stone fruit continued to bloom. Strong winds across the Central Valley knocked off petals and hampered bee activity. The citrus harvest including some late navel oranges continued. Some orange groves were hedge-rowed and skirted.  Seedless tangerine groves continued to be netted to prevent cross pollination by bees during bloom.

Almond bloom wrapped up for the season with some reports from early orchards of a good set. New orchards of almond and walnuts continued to be planted as growers pondered the partial water allocations recently announced and how to make the best of the available water. The week’s winds accelerated the drying of orchards flooded earlier this year. Orchard clean up continued in some of the most impacted areas.

In Monterey County, head lettuce harvesting will begin two weeks later than last year due to no-host quarantine in December and heavy rains in January and February.  Strawberry harvest picking up slowly; early picking of nearly-ripe berries were pushing into market.  In San Mateo County, seeds were being sown and fields were being readied for the growing season.  In Colusa, Sacramento, Solano, Yolo, and San Joaquin Counties, the asparagus harvest was well underway.  In Tulare County, producers were growing winter vegetables and selling produce such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, and carrots at Farmer’s Markets.  Onions were maturing.

Foothill rangeland and valley dryland pasture forage quality continued to improve. Supplemental feeding of livestock waned in response to the favorable range conditions. Sheep grazed retired pasture and dormant alfalfa. Bees were active in stone fruit orchards.