Kern Audubon Society

Sat. August 21 - Owens Lake

Field Trip

Led by Mike Prather - Birder, Conservationist & Owens Lake "hero"

and Jon L. Dunn, editor for the National Geographic Field Guide to Birds of North America

Owens Lake is one of Audubon's Important Bird Areas and Mike Prather, Eastern Sierra Audubon, will lead us on an exploration of this restored lake that attracts thousands of migrating birds. Plan to travel to Lone Pine Friday to camp or make own motel arrangements. Contact Ginny Dallas for details (587-6323) and website: kernaudubonsociety.org

An enormous wildlife resource has returned to Owens Lake, a migration stopover for tens of thousands of shorebirds and waterfowl that was lost nearly 100 years ago. The lake was dried as a result of water gathering by the City of Los Angeles, but now is receiving careful application of water to control the regional dust storms born with the lake's death.  Roughly 35 square miles of Owens Lake's surface are covered with shallow ponds or sheet flooding resulting in thousands of acres of rich feeding habitat for sandpipers, snowy plovers, ducks and geese, with 9 more square miles of ponds and sheet flooding currently under construction. 

In 2001 the National Audubon Society designated Owens Lake an Important Bird Area and in 2008 included it as one of ten IBA's in California that would receive staff time and resources from Audubon California. Creation of a collaborative lakewide conservation action plan is being led by Eastern Sierra Audubon and Audubon CA in partnership with LA Department of Water and Power, Department of Fish & Game and the State Lands Commission. 

Today hundreds of birders and wildlife watchers are visiting the lake on guided fieldtrips to see this amazing migratory spectacle. Nesting snowy plovers (the largest inland site in California), large flocks of least and western sandpipers, thousands of American avocets, peregrine falcon, white-faced ibis and more are watchable wildlife at Owens Lake. Now the challenge is to  determine how much of the rare resource can be protected in perpetuity. Can a balance be found between the need for water by Los Angeles and the need to protect wildlife, including its enjoyment by the citizens of California?

Mike Prather is a big part of the reason Owens Lake has been restored and we are fortunate to have Mike, who was honored by Audubon California as one of its top volunteers for 2008, lead this August 21st field trip. Mike has been residing in Inyo County since 1972 when he and wife Nancy moved to Death Valley to teach in a one room school house. He has actively been working on land and water issues in the Owens Valley since 1980 with the Owens Valley Committee (past president), Eastern Sierra Audubon (past president) and Sierra Club (past chapter chair). The re-watering of 62 miles of the Lower Owens River and the massive wildlife return to Owens Lake as a result of the Los Angeles Owens Lake Dust Control Project have been the center of Mike's conservation focus since the early 1980's. The enhancement and protection of the Owens River and Owens Lake Important Bird Areas attracts most of his current efforts and he invites everyone to join in the fun. Mike and Nancy live in Lone Pine and are retired (or 'real tired') from thirty years of teaching.

Mike has just informed us (Aug. 2010) that Jon L. Dunn will be joining us on this exciting field trip. The following intro. to Jon was from Birding Magazine: " A birding tour leader for more than 30 years and chief consultant for all five editions of the groundbreaking National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America , Jon L. Dunn is a major force in North American birding. Dunn coauthored Peterson Field Guides: Warblers , Gulls of the Americas , and Birding Essentials ; he has written numerous identification articles; and he acts as host for the Advanced Birding Video Series. He is considered one of the primary experts on the field identification and distribution of birds in North America, having served on the American Birding Association (ABA) Checklist Committee, the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) Committee on Classification and Nomenclature, and the California and Ohio Bird Records Committees. ... Noah K. Strycker"

SUMMER FIELD TRIP JULY 17TH

Can you tell which bird is the Yellow-Billed Cuckoo or the Summer Tanager or the Vermillion Flycatcher?

Here's your chance to see all three

Sat. JULY 17, 6:00AM - at the Kern River Preserve

We'll get an early start to beat the heat and join Bob Barnes, one of the country's best birders, at the Kern River Preserve to see summer birds: Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Summer Tanager, Willow Flycatcher, etc. Bring binocs, water, sunscreen, snacks, etc. We'll lunch at Sierra Vista Cafe before returning to Bakersfield. Meet 6am at Albertson's parking lot (Hiway 178 & Mt. Vernon) near the donut shop. Contact Madi for information: 322-7470

 

 

Sat, May 15, 8:00am - Lake Truxtun

In the past we have seen quite a large number of species in the area of Lake Truxtun and the surrounding groves and overflow pond at this time of year, including 4 - 5 species of warblers, orioles, Western tanagers, etc.   Hopefully we'll be as fortunate on this field trip, which will last 2 - 3 hours.  Meet in the parking lot onTruxtun Extension, east of Mohawk, opposite the Auto Club/AAA building.  Call Roger Coley at 832-1820 or 342-9309 for more information. Bring sunscreen, binoculars, water, snacks, etc. .