Saturday, July 8th - 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Join Buz Lunsford and his team of reptile rescuers for the fifth annual California Amphibian and Reptile Celebration.  

The non-profit organization Herp-Ecology along with its sister organization Reptile Rescue will educate and delight visitors with live native reptiles and amphibians.

Learn about native species and subspecies and how exotic species (some of which will be on hand) can negatively impact native wildlife.

Each year there are snakes, lizards, salamanders, and frogs for participants to touch and learn about. This year all of the California rattlesnakes and their subspecies will be at the festival (no touching of these critters though). Rattlesnakes on display will be: Sidewinder (2 subspecies (ssp)), red diamondback, speckled rattlesnake 2 ssp, Mojave rattlesnake, and western rattlesnake 3 ssp.

Species anticipated to be on display will be coast horned lizard, side-blotched lizard, western fence lizard, western whiptail, desert iguana, common kingsnake, rosy boa, and many other species.

In addition to Herp-Ecology/Reptile Rescue, booths from Joshua Tree Turtle & Tortoise Rescue, Wildlife Waystation, Lake Design, and Friends of the Kern River Preserve will have information booths.

News on the Fly

Bird News

Cuckoos are in! In mid-June, the first returning cuckoo was heard in the forest. These state endangered birds are one of our neatest birds and are here a very short time, from mid-June to mid-September.

The best place to find Yellow-billed Cuckoos, Willow Flycatchers, Summer Tanagers, and Yellow Warblers is right in the headquarters area. You can walk up and down the entrance road and listen for the target species. The Willow Flycatcher and cuckoo are protected species so do not travel cross country to see the birds, just observe from the road or trail.

Bird Feeding Program  - news from Birdie Foster

Hummingbird numbers are up recently we increased the number of feeders from 2 to 4. They are emptied everyday by swarms of hummingbirds. The feeders by the picnic table are the most popular with the one around the back not used as much by the hummers. There are lots of Black-chinned and Anna's Hummingbirds right now.

The thistle feeders along the edge of the Headquarters lawn are filled everyday. Red-winged Blackbirds have learned to shake the seed out of the feeders, so they can forage the seed off of the ground. Right now the most common bird on the feeders is Lesser Goldfinch.

If you noticed there is no wild bird seed around the preserve lately, there is a very important reason. Western Scrub Jays are attracted to the wild bird and sunflower seeds and they also eat eggs of any bird they can find, so we discourage their presence by not putting out their favorite seed during Willow Flycatcher and Yellow-billed Cuckoo nesting season.

There is a need for more bird feeders and donations to the bird feeding program. Visit the James Station in South Lake and donate to account #18 the Kern River Preserve bird feeding program. The money placed into this account keeps our volunteers from having to take money out of pocket when purchasing seed.

Contact Birdie Foster if you can spare an hour or two once a week to help feed the birds.

Audubon Groups Visit the Preserve

Over the past few months several Audubon Chapters have visited the Kern River Preserve and the Southern Sierra Nevada. Many of these trips have been led by Bob Barnes, while a few groups have independently discovered the wonders of our area.

We enjoy knowing that our fellow Audubonners are still visiting our little slice of heaven.

Make sure you sign our guest book when you come by. You are welcome anytime: Whittier Audubon Society, Los Angeles Audubon Society, Buena Vista Audubon, Sea and Sage Audubon Society, Kern Audubon Society, Redwood Region Ornithological Society, Ventura Audubon Society, and Pomona Valley Audubon Society.  A special welcome to the first ABA WINGS tour with Jon Dunn and Bob Barnes, we were really pleased to hear how successful their trip was with 165 species seen.

Butterfly Counts this July 4th Weekend

Saturday, July 1st: 6th Annual North Fork Kern River Valley Butterfly Count

Sunday, July 2nd: 4th Giant Sequoia National Monument - South Butterfly Count

Saturday's forecast: Sunny, High 94ºF, Low 66ºF
Sunday's forecast: Mostly Sunny, High 96ºF, Low 68ºF

Breakfast Each Day: Meet at Cheryl's Diner in downtown Kernville at 7am.

Count Start Each Day: Meet at Circle Park across from Cheryl's Diner at 8am.

If you would like to participate either or both days, email: Bob Barnes.

Southern Pacific Pond Turtle Project update

Bill Foster, Gordon Hancock, and Darrell Barnes have been converting an old travel trailer on the preserve into a state of the art facility for raising head started pond turtles. A grant for incubating and raising hatchlings until they are large enough to be released was recently approved by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Soon our turtle team will be out in the field collecting pairs of turtles to use as breeding stock for the program.

Congratulations on attaining the grant and permits go to Laurie Robinson and Reed Tollefson and major thanks to Darrell, Gordon, and Bill for getting the project started with such professional dedication.

Bluebird Boxes

Darrell Barnes, Marya Miller, and Ashley Sutton are the bluebird box monitor volunteers this year. They devote many hours to checking, repairing, and cleaning the 91 boxes on the preserve. So far this year the boxes have been occupied by many of the usual residents. One neat find is the Ash-throated Flycatcher family in a bluebird box mounted on the headquarters area grape arbor. Many of the boxes throughout the preserve are occupied by ready to fledge nestlings so it is a great time to stand back and view fledglings as they take their first tentative flights. The boxes have House Wren, Western Bluebird, Tree Swallow, and Ash-throated Flycatcher. Thanks Ashley, Marya, and Darrell for your dedication to the next generation of these birds.

Land Exchange

More pieces of the puzzle for protection of the South Fork Kern River watershed have fallen into place. The Bureau of Land Management traded some of their acreage for 960 acres of meadow habitat in the Domelands and Owens Peak Wildernesses. Now Big Pine Meadow and part of Lamont Meadow are now in designated wilderness. Read more about it at: http://www.blm.gov/ca/news/newsbytes/xtra-06/230-xtra_bakfo-exchange.html

Venture Out into the Wilds with local volunteer researchers

Every 10 Days or so throughout the breeding season, MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) Banding Stations are set-up in two locations in the South Fork Valley. Results are submitted to the Institute for Bird Populations (IBP). If you would like to volunteer please contact the expert bander to RSVP as dates may and often do change. Mist nets open just before dawn and stay open for six hours. Volunteers do not need to attend the entire session. You are welcome to stop by and visit if you don't feel comfortable volunteering. Bring snacks (sharing with the researchers welcome), drinks, and bug repellent.

Volunteer or visit: Join the volunteer crew for Bird Banding at Canebrake Ecological Preserve beginning at dawn. Run by EREMICO Biological Consulting. The banding station is near the bridge that crosses Canebrake Creek. Contact Denise or Bruce to volunteer: 760-378-3021 or eremico@aol.com
July 1
July 15
July 22
Aug 5

Volunteer or visit: Join the volunteer crew for Bird Banding beginning at dawn at the Kern River Preserve. Run by Ashley Sutton of the Southern Sierra Research Station. The banding station is located at the NE corner of the nature trail at Kern River Preserve. Contact Ashley: 760-378-3345 or ashley.sutton@gmail.com

tentative dates:

June 30

July 8
July 16
July 26
August 4