All day, fee, birding and
natural history field trips with expert leaders are offered
Wednesday-Tuesday, April 29 - May
5 in addition a 3-day pre-festival and a 4-day
post-festival trip have been added.
Saturday and Sunday, AUDUBON-CALIFORNIA'S Kern River Preserve in Weldon,
hosts numerous free events including bird walks led by KERNCREST AUDUBON
SOCIETY volunteers, bird banding with the Southern Sierra Research
Station, and information booths and exhibits located in the large,
shaded front yard of Preserve Headquarters.
Special Guests
:
Friday evening Keynote Speaker:
Jason & Zorka Saleeby -
CalTech Geologists;
Saturday Keynote Speaker:
Bob Barnes, expert on
regional birding and nature tourism opportunities; Charlotte Goodson, Children's Story Teller
Trip Leaders:
Larry Allen,
Bob Barnes
- field trip coordinator,
Bill Bouton,
Tom Edell, Gary File,
Joe
Fontaine, Mary Freeman,
Nick Freeman,
Wes Fritz,
Nick Gray,
Michael
McQuerrey, John Newman,
Linda Oberholtzer,
Gary Potter,
Mike Prather,
Jim Royer,
John Schmitt,
Alison Sheehey, Susan Steele,
Lee Sutton,
Reed Tollefson, John Wilson.
Workshop Leaders: Darrell Barnes, Bill Foster, Birdie
Foster, Marya Miller, Alison Sheehey, Southern Sierra Research, Bob Steele,
Reed Tollefson, Carol Wermuth
2009 SCHEDULE
OF EVENTS
MONDAY-WEDNESDAY, April 27-April 29
(PRE-FESTIVAL TRIP)
TRIP PRF: Inyo/Mono
Pre-Festival Trip. FEE $225
WEDNESDAY, April 29th
View Field Trips in Depth to see the full
trip description (unless otherwise noted all trips are
birding trips to a variety of habitats and regions)
6am-4pm/6pm,
TRIP B: Butterbredt Spring & East Kern
Desert Oases. FEE $40
6am-4pm/6pm,
TRIP C: Butterbredt Spring & Piute
Mountains. FEE $40
6am-4pm/6pm,
TRIP H: Greenhorn Mountains Transect.
FEE: $40
6am-4pm/6pm,
TRIP M: Kern River Valley & Southern
Sierra Nevada. FEE: $40
6am-4pm/6pm,
TRIP Q: Mojave Desert & Great Basin.
FEE: $40
6:30am-4pm/6pm,
TRIP U: San Joaquin Valley & Greenhorn
Mountains. FEE: $40
THURSDAY, April
30th
6am-4pm/6pm,
TRIP B: Butterbredt Spring & East Kern
Desert Oases. FEE $40
6am-4pm/6pm,
TRIP C: Butterbredt Spring & Piute
Mountains. FEE $40
6am-4pm/6pm,
TRIP H: Greenhorn Mountains Transect.
FEE: $40
6am-4pm/6pm,
TRIP M: Kern River Valley & Southern
Sierra Nevada. FEE: $40
6am-4pm/6pm,
TRIP Q: Mojave Desert & Great Basin.
FEE: $40
6:30am-4pm/6pm,
TRIP U: San Joaquin Valley & Greenhorn
Mountains. FEE: $40
FRIDAY,
May 1st
6am-4pm/6pm,
TRIP B: Butterbredt Spring & East Kern
Desert Oases. FEE $40
6am-4pm/6pm,
TRIP C: Butterbredt Spring & Piute
Mountains. FEE $40
6am-4pm/6pm,
TRIP H: Greenhorn Mountains Transect.
FEE: $40
6am-4pm/6pm,
TRIP M: Kern River Valley & Southern
Sierra Nevada. FEE: $40
6am-4pm/6pm,
TRIP Q: Mojave Desert & Great Basin.
FEE: $40
6:30am-4pm/6pm,
TRIP U: San Joaquin Valley & Greenhorn
Mountains. FEE: $40
6:30am-4pm/5pm,
TRIP O: Little Lake & Owens Lake.
FEE: $40
5 pm -
6:30
pm.
Mexican Fiesta - by Cindy Hood Catering (vegetarian option available by
pre-order).
Menu - Arroz con pollo (Chili Relleno Cheesy Rice
Casserole for vegetarians), Vegetarian Pot Beans, Chips and Salsa,
Cabbage Cole Slaw, Cake, non-alcoholic drinks.
Join us for dinner as we share 2009
Nature Festival experiences and socialize with
Festival participants and community guests. Location:
Family
Life Center, Panorama & Sycamore, Wofford Heights. Fee $20 (includes meal, tax, tip,
and evening program). Email
krpfriends@audubon.org to
reserve your space; indicate meat or vegetarian entree, which night or
nights you will attend; and bring cash or check made out to KRVR-Nature
Fest and pay at the door.
-
6:30 pm-7:45
pm -
Evening Program. $10 at the door
if only attending the program.
-
BLESSING: Tubatulabal of the Kern River Valley: Betsy Johnson &
Samantha Riding Red-Horse
-
Highlights of the 2009 Nature Festival: Bird Sightings
-
YOUTH BIRDING: Impressions of Liam Huber - 11-year old birder from
Chico, CA - Life list 514 birds
-
PROGRAM:
NEW IN
2009!!! Geology of Your Backyard: the Kern River Valley and
Southern Sierra Nevada with Dr. Jason Saleeby and Zorka Foster-Saleeby
Dr. Jason and Ms. Zorka Saleeby have been examining
the terrains of the Southern Sierra and Southern San Joaquin
Valley for over 30 years. Dr. Saleeby is one of the experts in the basic geology video
series "Earth Revealed," where his down to earth (no pun
intended) teaching style allows for understanding of an
otherwise difficult topic.
Dr. Saleeby's research includes: Regional
field, petrologic and radiogenic isotopic and geochronologic
studies applied to the interactions of oceanic and continental
plates, tectonic and magmatic accretion of continental crust,
dynamics of continent edge batholithic belts and the
paleogeographic development of western North America;
petrogenesis and geodynamic setting of the upper mantle beneath
the Sierra Nevada region based on studies of Neogene volcanic
hosted xenoliths integrated with regional geophysical studies;
tectonic and petrogenetic development of the Greater Caucasus
Mountain Range, southern U.S.S.R. and its relations with the
paleogeographic evolution of the northern Tethys ocean basin;.
study of pre-industrial levels of Pb in human bone and tooth
remains from ancient ice burials as a base line for the study of
anthropogenic global Pb pollution.
Dr. Saleeby is a professor of Geology at
CalTech in Pasadena. He teaches introductory and advanced
geological field mapping, structural geology, physical geology,
Cordilleran regional geology and tectonics, global mountain
building and plate tectonics, application of petrogenetic and
geochemical studies to regional and global tectonics. He earned
his PhD in Geology from the University of California at Santa
Barbara. His dissertation was on "Structure, Petrology and
Geochronology of the King-Kaweah Mafic-Ultra mafic Belt,
Southwest Sierra Nevada Foothills, California."
Ms. Saleeby received an Engineer of
Geology Degree, Zagreb University, Croatia and an M.S. in
Geology at Indiana University.
She worked as a Senior Geologic Engineer with Shell Oil and Cal
Resources, Bakersfield (1990-1997), private consultant,
1997-1999, and is currently a Staff
Geologist, Caltech Tectonics Observatory.
6pm-Conclusion,
TRIPS R1, R2, S, & T: Owling –
Inquire
SATURDAY, May
2nd
5am-Conclusion, TRIP
BD: Birders’ Big Day. Fee $40
6am-4pm/6pm,
TRIP B: Butterbredt Spring & East Kern
Desert Oases. FEE $40
6am-4pm/6pm,
TRIP C: Butterbredt Spring & Piute
Mountains. FEE $40
5am/6am-3pm/5pm, TRIP G: Galileo Hill-Silver
Saddle Resort. FEE: $40
6am-11:30am/1pm,
TRIP D: Canebrake Ecological Reserve.
FEE: $30
6am-11:30am/1pm,
TRIP E: Chimney Peak National
Backcountry By-way. FEE:
$30
6am-11:30am/1pm,
TRIP F: Fay
Ranch Road.
FEE: $30
6am-11:30am/1pm,
TRIP I: Inyokern – Le Conte’s Thrasher
& Much More. FEE: $30
6am-11:30am/1pm, TRIP J: Isabella Reservoir.
FEE: $30
6am-11:30am/1pm,
TRIP K: Kelso Creek Sanctuary.
FEE: $30
6am-11:30am/1pm,
TRIP L:
Kern River Preserve Headquarters. FEE: $30
6am-11:30am/1pm,
TRIP P: Migrant Corner Trail &
Prince’s Pond.
FEE: $30
6am-11:30am/1pm,
TRIP W:
South Fork Wildlife Area. FEE: $30
6am-4pm/6pm,
TRIP H: Greenhorn Mountains Transect.
FEE: $40
6am-4pm/6pm,
TRIP M: Kern River Valley & Southern
Sierra Nevada. FEE: $40
6am-4pm/6pm,
TRIP Q: Mojave Desert & Great Basin.
FEE: $40
6:30am-4pm/6pm,
TRIP U: San Joaquin Valley & Greenhorn
Mountains. FEE: $40
7 am-10 am+. Basic
Bird Photography Workshop with
Bob Steele. Learn how to set-up natural
habitat shots to photograph birds in a semi-controlled setting. Get tips
and techniques for using your camera more effectively. Minimum equipment
requirements: Digital or Film SLR camera, 300mm lens, teleconverter.
Meet at Kern River Preserve Headquarters in Weldon. See
Bob Steele's website. FEE: $30.
7 am - Noon. Bird Banding Demonstration at Kern
River Preserve. Join the Southern Sierra Research Station
to learn how banding is used to conserve birds, listen to the
heartbeat of a bird and otherwise observe birds up close & personal.
Observers may release birds after they are banded but otherwise this is
a show and tell event not a hands on workshop.
Kern River Preserve Headquarters
FREE
New in
2009!!! TRIP Z:
8 am -
1:30 pm. (Saturday only), Southern
Sierra Geology. Join Geologists
Jason & Zorka Saleeby with Joe Fontaine on
this immensely
popular geology field trip. This geological transect will interpret
millions of years of the Sierra Nevada and recent
tectonic activity. See metasedimentary rocks,
granite batholith, and limestone dikes along several stops along Sierra
Way from the Kern Canyon north of Kernville to the South Fork Valley
near Weldon. This amazing group will reveal the story told by the exposed
faults, soils and
rocks at each stop. Leave from
Audubon’s Sprague Ranch parking lot alongside Fay Ranch
Road, 1.6 miles north of Hwy. 178 in Weldon. Bring food & drink to last until
1:30pm. Trip Limit. FEE: $40
(includes detailed booklet - this is the same booklet
provided by Joe Fontaine in prior trips - please let us know if you do
not need an additional copy).
9
am - 10 am. Falconry Workshop.
Bill Foster, KRP volunteer and expert hawk handler will
demonstrate the ancient art of falconry.
Kern River Preserve Headquarters FREE
9 am - 11
am.
Kern River Preserve Bird Walk. A Kerncrest Audubon Society
volunteer will lead this walk through a portion of California’s largest
Fremont cottonwood and red willow riparian forest; a Globally Important
Bird Area. Kern River Preserve Headquarters is the best place to study
hummingbirds as they visit feeders in the yard. This trip will include a
visit to the bird banding station. Meet at the Festival Information
table at Kern River Preserve Headquarters in Weldon. Beginners welcome!
FREE
9 am -
11 am. Habitat enhancements and stewardship at the Kern River
Preserve. Join Preserve manager Reed Tollefson on a hike around the
restoration sites of the Kern River Preserve. Learn about the ongoing
efforts of habitat improvements and exotic plant removal that has
contributed to greater numbers of nesting species of birds. Meet at the
Kern River Preserve Headquarters. FREE
9 am -
3 pm.
TRIP Y: An Introduction to Kern River Valley Spring Butterflies.
Join butterfly expert Bill
Bouton on visits to South Fork Valley and Erskine Creek
hotspots to look for some of the Kern River Valley's most beautiful and
rare butterflies. Butterfly species which have been known to fly in late
April include the Western Tiger Swallowtail, Western Pygmy-Blue (the
world's smallest butterfly), and California Sister (Erskine Creek). The
San Emigdio Blue and Alkali Skipper may be flying, butterflies which are
rare enough that people from around the world come to the Kern River
Valley to see them. Although this field trip is especially designed to
introduce participants to butterflies, anyone is welcome, from beginner
through expert. Leave at 9am via carpool from the
Audubon’s Sprague Ranch parking lot alongside Fay Ranch
Road, 1.6 miles north of Hwy. 178
in Weldon. Binoculars are helpful. Bring food & drink to last until 3pm.
FEE: $20.
9 am - 5 pm. Kern River Preserve Festival
Headquarters. Kern River Preserve, Weldon: Children’s activities,
Information, Educational & Interactive Exhibits, Field Trip Departures,
Live animals, and more.
Kern River Preserve Headquarters. FREE (Donations welcome).
10 am - 10:30 am.
Southern Pacific Pond Turtle Demonstration.
Learn about the Kern River Preserve's preservation efforts for this rare
species. Darrell Barnes will talk about turtle biology and share photos
and videos of the project. Question and answer
session to follow.
Kern River Preserve Headquarters FREE (Donations welcome).
10 am - 11:30 am.
LIVE MUSIC.
Lost Hills
- Archie Logsdon.
Lost Hills is Archie Logsdon, a poet and songwriter from California's Kern River
Valley. His songs of love, death and wandering in the wilderness are evocative
of the Southern Sierra region where he grew up and now resides. Clean country
guitar picking and plaintive harmonica provide the background for his poetic
imagery and gritty stories of faith, longing and betrayal.
Bring your folding chair or blanket and sit down and enjoy.
FREE.
10 am - 4 pm. Children’s Activities at the Kern
River Preserve. Charlotte Goodson Nature crafts, storytelling, live
snakes & frogs.
Kern River Preserve Headquarters FREE
10 am -
4 pm.
Kern Valley Museum. Visit the excellent museum run by
the Kern Valley Historical Society and learn about the Valley’s
fascinating history: Native Americans, gold mining, farming & ranching,
lumbering, and western movies (John Wayne, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and
Humphrey Bogart). Art gallery and gift shop. Located at 49 Big Blue Road
(1 short block from Circle Park). FREE (Donations welcome).
10 am - 4 pm. Live Native Amphibians & Reptiles.
Educational presentations throughout the day by Herp-Ecology.
On display will be a wide variety of California reptiles and amphibians.
Kern River Preserve Headquarters. FREE
10 am - 4 pm.
Paiute Nuui Cunni Cultural Center
(Native American) French Gulch, Wofford Heights. Meaning
"our house" in Piute/Shoshone, the Nuui Cunni Cultural Center
is a place of renewal and gathering for local Native peoples. Language,
crafts and many tribal programs take place here. Open to the public are
exhibits of Native American art, a reference library and a friendly
staff that can help explain the history and living traditions of the
Kern Valley's original People. Gift Shop. Located south of Kernville in
the French Gulch Campground. For more information, call (760) 549-0800.
FREE (Donations
welcome).
10 am - 4 pm. Official United States Postal Service
Kern Valley Spring Nature Festival Postal Station,
Kern River Preserve, Weldon. Steve Kenton, Weldon Postmaster, has once again
arranged to set up an official USPS postal station at
the Kern River Preserve
offering Special Festival Cancellation, stamped envelopes. These stamped envelopes are the "real deal" and may be
purchased for the price of a first class stamp. They may be used for
first class mailings over the following month or added to collectors'
stamp collections. Collectors from all over the world have contacted
Steve to order Kern Valley Festival special cancellations from past
years' festivals. You may also order and purchase envelopes with this
year's Spring Nature Festival cancellation from Steve during regular hours at the
Weldon Post Office. Contact Steve for the exact time period for picking
up your order.
Kern River Preserve Headquarters
10:30 am - 11 am. Bird Feeding Workshop. Our
bird feeding coordinator, Birdie Foster, will teach how to clean and
maintain feeders and what type of feed attracts birds.
11 am - noon.
Native Plant Gardening Workshop.
Marya Miller, local gardening and native plant
expert will talk about how to use native plants in your garden.
Kern River Preserve Headquarters FREE
11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. LIVE MUSIC. "Out of the Blue"
with
Pat Seamount, Mike Gallagher
and Terry Harris.
Kern Valley favorites will play acoustic folk, Irish, and traditional songs to
delight the crowds. Bring your folding chair or blanket and sit down to enjoy
this talented group. Resonator Guitar, Guitar,
Mandolin, Bass. Although this concert is FREE, Pat, Mike,
and Terry intend that this
is a fundraiser on behalf of the Kern River Preserve and the
Nature
Festival so donations are heartily welcome.
Bring your folding chair or blanket and sit down and enjoy.
FREE.
Noon - 1 pm. Basic Bird Identification with
Alison Sheehey.
Learn how to identify some of the common birds around the
Kern River Valley, bring binoculars and field guides. FREE
1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. LIVE MUSIC.
"The Bako Wed Irish Session". The multiply musically
talented Jill Egland along with a half dozen of her friends will entertain the
crowd with an uniquely Bakersfield Celtic sound. Lilting Irish melodies are
spiced up with a Wild West flavor that can carry one away to the Emerald Isle or
Whiskey Flat. Bring your folding chair or blanket and sit down and enjoy.
FREE.
1:30 pm – 2:30 pm. Nature Walk. Learn about
the plants, trees, birds and animals that are all part of the Kern River
Preserve.
Kern River Preserve Headquarters FREE
2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. LIVE MUSIC.
"Homeless will Play for Money" with
Rob Robinson and his local cohorts, Georgie
and Bob Bergeron, and Jackie Smith. Robbie and friends have been
entertaining at the Preserve for several years. They will be remembered from the
Vulture Festival in 2003 where they introduced the Band "Rob the Piper with
Carrion Luggage". The Band features an eclectic mix of singing, recorder,
mandolin, guitar and drum playing to accompany Irish, folk, and blues tunes.
Bring your folding chair or blanket and sit down and enjoy.
FREE.
3 pm-5 pm+, Advanced
Bird Photography Workshop with Bob Steele. Learn how to photograph birds
in flight. This workshop will take place along the shore of Isabella
reservoir. Gulls will be the target species. Minimum equipment
requirements: Digital or Film SLR camera, 300mm lens, teleconverters,
flash (not required, but suggested). Meet at
Kissack Cove in Mountain
Mesa just inside the westernmost entrance (where the speed limit
changes). See Bob Steele's website. FEE: $30.
5 pm -
6:30
pm.
Teriyaki Chicken - by Cindy Hood Catering
(vegetarian option available upon request).
Menu - Oven Baked Teriyaki Chicken, Herbed rice, Ranch style
beans, Salad, (for vegetarians an eggplant based dish), Dinner roll,
Cake, non-alcoholic beverages. Join us for dinner as we share 2009
Nature Festival experiences and socialize with
Festival participants and community guests. Location:
Family
Life Center, Panorama & Sycamore, Wofford Heights Fee $20 (includes meal, tax, tip,
and evening program). Email
krpfriends@audubon.org to
reserve your space; indicate meat or vegetarian entree, which night or
nights you will attend; and bring cash or check made out to KRVR-Nature
Fest and pay at the door.
-
LIVE MUSIC - "Out of the Blue"
-
Evening Program. $10 at the door
if only attending the program.
-
Highlights of the 2009
Nature Festival
-
Drawings for prizes
-
NEW IN 2009!!!
6:30 pm-7:45pm -
Bob Barnes -
"Birding the Kern River Valley & Southern Sierra Nevada".
The Kern River Valley and Southern Sierra Nevada has acquired a
reputation as a world class birding area. Spring Nature Festival birding
field trips enjoy the height of "Best in the West" spring migration.
Kern County has earned "America's Birdiest Inland County" recognition
each of the past five springs.
Spring is a prime season for "birding the Kern," yet summer birding
objectively rivals spring's. Two hundred bird species have been recorded
as nesting within an eighteen mile radius of Audubon California's Kern
River Preserve Headquarters ... a remarkable number not known to be
rivaled anywhere else in the United States and Canada.
Although fall and winter birding is not as diverse as in spring and
summer, there are both dramatic and subtle aspects to those seasons as
well.
"Birding the Kern River Valley & Southern Sierra Nevada" will celebrate
the birds and birding in this highly diverse region of the United
States.
ABOUT OUR SPEAKER: Bob Barnes has been birding
through California for the past 35 years. His expertise in Southern
Sierra species distribution and status is unparalleled. He has led over
200 local birding tours, and spends countless hours independently
birding the region. He authored the section on Kern River Valley and
Southern Sierra Nevada birding in "A Birder's Guide to Southern
California" by Brad Schram. Bob was integral in bringing the South Fork
Valley to the attention of Audubon and The Nature Conservancy resulting
in protection of this precious resource. He also worked on the Desert
Protection Act which added thousands of acres of protected wilderness to
Kern County's deserts and the southern Sierra Nevada.
Bob is an independent Biological Consultant and
serves as the Executive Director of the Arthur & Sidney R. Barnes
Foundation; which works to sustain the unique cultural and environmental
character of rural communities facing rapid development.
6pm-Conclusion,
TRIPS R1, R2, S, & T: Owling –
Inquire
SUNDAY, May 3rd
5am-4pm/6pm,
TRIP B: Butterbredt Spring & East Kern
Desert Oases. FEE $40
6am-4pm/6pm,
TRIP C: Butterbredt Spring & Piute
Mountains. FEE $40
5am/6am-3pm/5pm, TRIP G: Galileo Hill-Silver
Saddle Resort. FEE: $40
5:45am-4pm/6pm, TRIP X: Target Species /
Target Trips. FEE: $40
6am-11:30am/1pm,
TRIP D: Canebrake Ecological Reserve.
FEE: $30
6am-11:30am/1pm,
TRIP E: Chimney Peak National
Backcountry By-way. FEE:
$30
6am-11:30am/1pm,
TRIP F: Fay
Ranch Road.
FEE: $30
6am-11:30am/1pm,
TRIP I: Inyokern – Le Conte’s Thrasher
& Much More. FEE: $30
6am-11:30am/1pm, TRIP J: Isabella Reservoir.
FEE: $30
6am-11:30am/1pm,
TRIP K: Kelso Creek Sanctuary.
FEE: $30
6am-11:30am/1pm,
TRIP L:
Kern River Preserve Headquarters. FEE: $30
6am-11:30am/1pm,
TRIP P: Migrant Corner Trail &
Prince’s Pond.
FEE: $30
6am-11:30am/1pm,
TRIP W:
South Fork Wildlife Area. FEE: $30
6am-4pm/6pm,
TRIP H: Greenhorn Mountains Transect.
FEE: $40
6am-4pm/6pm,
TRIP M: Kern River Valley & Southern
Sierra Nevada. FEE: $40
6am-4pm/6pm,
TRIP Q: Mojave Desert & Great Basin.
FEE: $40
6:30am-4pm/6pm,
TRIP U: San Joaquin Valley & Greenhorn
Mountains. FEE: $40
7 am - Noon. Bird Banding Demonstration at Kern
River Preserve. Join the Southern Sierra Research Station
to learn how banding is used to conserve birds, listen to the
heartbeat of a bird and otherwise observe birds up close & personal.
Observers may release birds after they are banded but otherwise this is
a show and tell event not a hands on workshop.
Kern River Preserve Headquarters
FREE
New in
2009!!! TRIP ZZ: 8am-11am
(Sunday only),
Chimney Peak-Long Valley-Kennedy Meadows.
The eastern Sierra
mining and geology is the focus of this field
trip. From Weldon we investigate our way to a
zoned pegmatite in the Chimney Peak Recreation Area
and other abandoned Barite mining sites in the Long Valley area.
We then take County Road J41 to Kennedy Meadows examining plutons and
enclaves and other igneous geology topics. FEE: $30.
Leave from
Audubon’s Sprague Ranch parking lot alongside Fay Ranch
Road, 1.6 miles north of Hwy. 178 in Weldon. Bring food &
snacks. Trip Limit.
FEE: $30
9am - 10am. Falconry Workshop.
Bill Foster, KRP volunteer and expert hawk handler will
demonstrate the ancient art of falconry.
Kern River Preserve Headquarters FREE
9am - 11am.
Kern River Preserve Bird Walk. A Kerncrest Audubon Society
volunteer will lead this walk through a portion of California’s largest
Fremont cottonwood and red willow riparian forest; a Globally Important
Bird Area. Kern River Preserve Headquarters is the best place to study
hummingbirds as they visit feeders in the yard. This trip will include a
visit to the bird banding station. Meet at the Festival Information
table at Kern River Preserve Headquarters in Weldon. Beginners welcome!
FREE
9 am -
3 pm.
TRIP Y: An Introduction to Kern River Valley Spring Butterflies.
Join our butterfly expert Bill
Bouton on visits to South Fork Valley and Erskine Creek
hotspots to look for some of the Kern River Valley's most beautiful and
rare butterflies. Butterfly species which have been known to fly in late
April include the Western Tiger Swallowtail, Western Pygmy-Blue (the
world's smallest butterfly), and California Sister (Erskine Creek). The
San Emigdio Blue and Alkali Skipper may be flying, butterflies which are
rare enough that people from around the world come to the Kern River
Valley to see them. Although this field trip is especially designed to
introduce participants to butterflies, anyone is welcome, from beginner
through expert. Leave at 9am via carpool from the
Audubon’s Sprague Ranch parking lot alongside Fay Ranch
Road, 1.6 miles north of Hwy. 178
in Weldon. Binoculars are helpful. Bring food & drink to last until 3pm.
FEE: $20.
9 am - 5 pm. Kern River Preserve Headquarters.
Kern River Preserve, Weldon: Children’s activities, Information,
Educational & Interactive Exhibits, Field Trip Departures, Live animals,
and more.
Kern River Preserve Headquarters FREE (Donations welcome).
Vendors:
Buena Vista Group Sierra Club, Bureau of Land Management, CNPS Kern County Chapter, Children's
Activities, Friends of the
Kern River Preserve, HerpEcology, Kern
Audubon Society, Kern River
Parkway Foundation, Kern River Valley Birding, Kerncrest Audubon
Society, Nevada Birding: Wildly Unexpected, Optics for Birding, Sequoia
ForestKeeper, Southern Sierra Research Station, Spring Wings Bird Festival
(Fallon, Nevada, Subaru, Tule Elk Reserve, Windwolves Preserve
10 am - 10:30 am.
Southern Pacific Pond Turtle Demonstration.
Learn about the Kern River Preserve's preservation efforts for this rare
species. Darrell Barnes will talk about turtle biology and share photos
and videos of the project.
Kern River Preserve Headquarters FREE (Donations welcome).
10 am - 11:30 am.
LIVE MUSIC.
Lost Hills
- Archie Logsdon.
Lost Hills is Archie Logsdon, a poet and songwriter from California's Kern River
Valley. His songs of love, death and wandering in the wilderness are evocative
of the Southern Sierra region where he grew up and now resides. Clean country
guitar picking and plaintive harmonica provide the background for his poetic
imagery and gritty stories of faith, longing and betrayal.
Bring your folding chair or blanket and sit down and enjoy.
FREE.
10 am - 4 pm. Children’s Activities at the Kern
River Preserve. Nature crafts, storytelling, live snakes & frogs.
Kern River Preserve Headquarters
FREE
10 am - 4 pm.
Kern Valley Museum.
Visit the excellent museum run by the Kern Valley Historical Society and
learn about the Valley’s fascinating history: Native Americans, gold
mining, farming & ranching, lumbering, and western movies (John Wayne,
Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and Humphrey Bogart). Art gallery and gift shop.
Located at 49 Big Blue Road (1 short block from Circle Park). FREE (Donations welcome).
10 am - 4 pm. Live Native Amphibians & Reptiles.
Kern River Preserve. Educational presentations throughout the day by
Herp-Ecology. On display will be a wide variety of California reptiles
and amphibians.
Kern River Preserve Headquarters FREE
10 am - 4 pm.
Paiute Nuui Cunni Cultural Center
(Native American) French Gulch, Wofford Heights. Meaning "our house" in
Piute/Shoshone, the Nuui Cunni Cultural Center is a place of renewal and
gathering for local Native peoples. Language, crafts and many tribal
programs take place here. Open to the public are exhibits of Native
American art, a reference library and a friendly staff that can help
explain the history and living traditions of the Kern Valley's original
People. Gift Shop. Located south of Kernville in the French Gulch
Campground. For more information,
call (760) 549-0800. FREE (Donations welcome).
10:30 am - 11 am. Bird Feeding Workshop. Our
bird feeding coordinator, Birdie Foster, will teach how to clean and
maintain feeders and what type of feed attracts birds.
11
am - noon. Gardening with Native Plants
at the Kern River Preserve. Marya Miller,
local native plant columnist will introduce visitors to the idea of
gardening with local natives.
Kern River Preserve Headquarters FREE
11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
LIVE MUSIC.
"Jill Egland, Brenda Hunter & Friends" Two-thirds of
Banshee in the Kitchen along with a few more friends will delight the audience
with rousing Celtic based tunes.
Jill Egland plays flute, high and low
whistles, accordion, and bodhran; Brenda Hunter will
be on fiddle; along with
other talented musicians to be named. As is a
tradition with artists from Bakersfield they take traditional tunes
and liven them up to create a wonderfully unique sound. FREE (Donations welcome).
Noon - 2 pm. Native American use of Native Plants.
Carol Wermuth, Native American expert brings back this ever
popular talk about
traditional uses of plants and discover how local Native Americans used,
and use, native plants as sources of medicine and food. The
land that the preserve sits on was Tübatulabal (the local Indian tribe)
territory.
Kern River Preserve Headquarters FREE
Noon - 1 pm. Basic Bird Identification with
Alison Sheehey.
Learn how to identify some of the common birds around the
Kern River Valley, bring binoculars and field guides. FREE
1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. LIVE MUSIC.
"Homeless will Play for Money" with Rob Robinson and his local cohorts, Georgie
and Bob Bergeron, and Jackie Smith. Robbie and friends have been
entertaining at the Preserve for several years. They will be remembered from the
Vulture Festival in 2003 where they introduced the Band "Rob the Piper with
Carrion Luggage". The Band features an eclectic mix of singing, recorder,
mandolin, guitar and drum playing to accompany Irish, folk, and blues tunes.
FREE.
2:30 p.m. - conclusion. -
LIVE MUSIC
at the Kern River Preserve
Jam with various local artists. Open Jam w/Jay Barush, Paul Webb,
Jason O'Donnell, Lottie Angelsea, Terry Harris, other drop in artists, the
remains of Homeless and more grand artists.
FREE.
2:30 pm – 3:30 pm, Nature Walk. Learn about
the plants, trees, birds and animals that are all part of the Kern River
Preserve. FREE
