Kerncrest Audubon Society Daniel Barnett–
The Kerncrest Audubon Society invites the community to join the club for a bird-filled outing to the Kern River Preserve led by Reed Tollefson. Tollefson is the manager of the Kern River Preserve, where he has worked since 1987, overseeing preserve operations and programs and monitoring endangered species. Tollefson’s enthusiastic work within granting and fundraising has led to the continuing expansion of the preservation and protection of other habitats in the Kern River Valley South Fork area over the years.
Even people who have visited the preserve many times should plan to join us because we will look at recently developed sites in the preserve that few people have seen. We will look at:
1. Ducks Unlimited (DU) Wetland Project-Kern River Preserve partnership with DU to install upgrades to our Cottonwood Ditch. These help us use our pre-1914 water rights to create wetlands and recharge groundwater. This builds the resilience of our river forest to climate change and drought.
2. 115 acres of native plantings in partnership with the US Army Corps of Engineers. These sites have increased upland plant species diversity. They also conserve water because large agricultural pumps and diversions from Fay Creek are retired from farm operations.
People who recently visited the preserve have recorded up to 40 species there.
This tour will begin at the preserve’s new office/bunkhouse at 8218 Fay Ranch Rd, Weldon, at 9 AM on Saturday, May 18. We’ll meet at the Chevron gas station in Inyokern at 8 AM to carpool or caravan. Anyone wishing to get a head start on birding with Tollefson should arrive at 8 AM.
If enough people are interested in early birding, reply to this email or call Bob Parker at 760-301-4633 or Brenda Burnett at 760-382-4935. We will meet an hour earlier, at 7 AM, at the same gas station to share rides.
People enjoyed Bob Steele’s Presentation “The Pacific Crest Trail” at the Maturango Museum at 7 PM on Wednesday, May 15th. Bob had excellent pictures and had a lot to say about how he and his wife, Susan, completed the whole PCT from Mexico to Canada in one season.
Bob is an excellent speaker, a great photographer, a great birder, and a fun person.
