Bird Bounty on the Kern River Preserve

Have you ever ever stepped right into a secluded valley the place golden mild, dashing water, and a refrain of birds make the entire panorama really feel alive round you? This spring, throughout a particular behind-the-scenes tour of Audubon’s Kern River Protect, members of Audubon’s Grinnell Legacy Society skilled simply that as they have been guided via our ongoing restoration work. From Brewer’s Sparrow and Burrowing Owl to “grinding rocks” and restored farmlands, members noticed firsthand what makes this vital riparian hall so extraordinary.

Our house base for the journey was the Whispering Pines Motel in Kernville—a comfortable spot the place the sound of the river lulled us to sleep at evening and morning espresso from the in-room kitchenette fueled every day’s adventures.

Exploring the Protect

Our two-day journey started with a sundown stroll at Sprague Ranch, a former cattle ranch the place Audubon, with companions, has restored a whole lot of acres of native vegetation. As we walked the path, Protect Supervisor Reed Tollefson described how leaving Audubon’s water proper Fay Creek has sustained and elevated resiliency of habitat for birds and wildlife.

Close by, we examined a local plant restoration website, the place the various native plant palette stood in sharp distinction to the muted fields of former hay and alfalfa. The distinction was unmistakable: the restored land was alive with sparrows, together with a lifer Brewer’s Sparrow for a few of our members, whereas the unrestored fields remained quiet. 

Because of all of the important restoration progress, the Brewer’s Sparrow was simply a part of the immense fowl pleasure we skilled on our first day. We additionally had the prospect to look at Native American grinding rocks whereas the aroma of lupine and different wildflowers drifted on the breeze. Simply earlier than the solar went down, an abundance of goldfinches (American, Lesser, and Lawrence’s) darted among the many colourful blooms, dazzling our group whereas we did our greatest to deal with studying the best way to distinguish Western from Cassin’s Kingbirds by their white-tipped tails. After an extended day of journey and pleasure, we closed the night with a scrumptious dinner at Sierra Vista restaurant in Weldon, reviving each physique and spirit.

Early the subsequent morning, we joined Reed at Kern River Protect’s personal workplace headquarters and bunkhouse, a location that always homes researchers working with our companions at Southern Sierra Research. Throughout our assembly, we witnessed an unforgettable sight: Tricolored Blackbirds, a threatened species, mingling with a big flock of Crimson-winged Blackbirds. It was Reed’s first time seeing them there—probably the wetlands, enhanced by ongoing restoration work and treasured water availability, performed a job… with a little bit good luck from our group, too.

Fowl artist and peregrine protector John Schmitt joined us for a phenomenal stretch of our journey, sharing his fowl lore and experience as we hiked towards a rocky overlook, pausing to admire the wildflowers alongside the way in which. On the promontory, we have been rewarded with an enormous, awe-inspiring view of the Kern River Valley, its lush riparian hall on show under in a mosaic of cottonwoods, wetlands, and grasslands alive with rails, swallows, and raptors. Reed reminded us that each drop of water sustaining this oasis is safeguarded by Audubon’s historic pre-1914 water rights.

Probably the most significant moments got here when Chairman Robert Gomez, Jr. of the Tübatulabals, Indigenous folks of the Kern River Valley, welcomed us to the Kwolokam, or “place of the duck”—ancestral lands just lately re-acquired by the tribe. Standing in a wide-open meadow surrounded by yellow wildflowers and pine timber, Chairman Gomez and others shared their imaginative and prescient for the Kwolokam’s future: a hothouse to help neighborhood meals safety, restored orchards, a pond, and a panorama as soon as once more welcoming herons, geese, and the treasured Pinyon Jay on the headwaters of Fay Creek.

Full of gratitude after our uncommon, guided go to to Kwolokam, just a few of us visited the unique Kern River Protect headquarters. At the moment closed resulting from flooding, the customer heart and supervisor’s home have been rendered inaccessible because the river has shifted course. Reed defined that with future funding, he goals to reopen public entry at Audubon’s Kern River Protect, that includes trails and interpretive signage, for this lush cottonwood forest stays among the best locations for birds and birdwatching, in addition to a vital habitat for birds just like the federally threatened Yellow-billed Cuckoo.

After a short afternoon respite, we carpooled to the close by Hanning Flat Protect simply earlier than sundown in the hunt for Western Burrowing Owls. This protect, bought by the Kern Valley Heritage Foundation with help from Audubon, has change into a haven due to synthetic burrows designed by Audubon and put in by volunteers final yr, efforts which have already drawn in each particular person owls and nesting pairs. And we have been in luck, the owls made an cute look. Watching these exceptional birds emerge at nightfall, with Swainson’s Hawks hovering overhead and John including tales of their fascinating behaviors, was the proper option to shut the day.