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Summer/Fall 2004 Friends of the Kern River Preserve Volume 8, Issue 2 CALIFORNIA Summer/Fall 2004 An Old Friend Returns Calendar of Events by Reed Tollefson September 14-Octo- Spring arrived at the Kern River Preserve and ber 14 as the birds return, so do many new guests and old 11th Annual KRV friends. On May 6th a very special individual flew Turkey Vulture into the Kern Valley. This individual, his family and Watch. call Terri relatives have been instrumental in helping Audubon to volunteer. 760- and our partners to secure over $7.5 million dollars to 378-4173. email support land protection, research and stewardship. [email protected] Although he arrived quietly in the night, he an- Sat. September nounced his arrival by singing early in the morning 18 from the riparian forest near our Headquarters. Kern Valley Pride Day. He is a willow flycatcher that was caught in 1998 contact Sandra, and banded with a violet-light green leg band. He has email: [email protected] returned to breed every year since and at seven years old is a venerable sire of children and grandchildren. Fri.-Mon. Sep- He has had at least 8 different mates, sometimes tember 24-27 two at the same time. Many of their nests have been Southwestern Willow Fly- 10th Annual KRV see Old Friend page 2 catcher © Nature Ali Turkey Vulture Festival Happy Anniversary - Ten Years of Sat. & Sun. Oc- tober 23 & 24 Celebrating Vultures 2nd Annual KRP Friends Apprecia- It all began eleven years ago with the tion Weekend advent of the Vulture Watch, who knew that hundreds of people would come to Sat. January 1, anticipate the arrival of the janitors of the 2005 bird world with a decade of festivals. But South Fork Christ- those black and silver watchers in the sky mas Bird Count. are celebrated and anticipated with glee contact Denise LaBerteaux. each year. 760-378-3021. email: [email protected] This year is no exception. Join us for the tenth annual Kern Valley Turkey Vulture A young boy enjoys making a Turkey Sun. January 2, 2005 Vulture puppet at the Kerncrest Festival from September 24th through the Kern Valley Christmas Bird Audubon booth. Society © Nature Ali Count see Vultures page 5 KRP Friends Appreciation Weekend Join the fun and festivities for our second annual Friends Appreciation weekend on Sat. & Sun. October 23 & 24. Planned events are nature walks, workshops, and For information contact Bob presentations on the past year at KRP. For members of the Friends of the Kern Barnes at 760-378-3044 or River Preserve only. Lunch will be provided, dinner is no-host at a local restaurant. [email protected] Please RSVP Reed at 760-378-2531 Friends of the Kern River Preserve Summer/Fall 2004 genetic viability and nest success as well work on Yellow- Friends of the Kern River Preserve billed cuckoos and goldfi nches. In stewardship, our crews P.O. Box 833 have planted and cared for thousands of native trees, shrubs Weldon, CA 93283-0833 and understory plants on our riparian restoration sites while at (760) 378-3044 email: [email protected] the same time battling invasive weeds like salt cedar, Russian- website: http://audubon.org/local/sanctuary/kernriver olive and purple loosestrife on over 10,000 acres throughout the South Fork Valley. In land protection we continue to work The Kern River Preserve is managed by Audubon Califor- with private landowners and public agencies to help the Army nia for the preservation of one of California’s largest contiguous Corps of Engineers achieve their 1,100 acre willow fl ycatcher cottonwood-willow riparian forests and the wildlife it supports. mitigation requirement for the operations of Isabella Reser- The Friends of the Kern River Preserve is a membership voir, which is the source of the $7.5 million dollars. For more organization that provides fi nancial support for outreach, educa- information, see our webpage and online newsletters at http: tion, wildlife habitat protection, and land stewardship. //audubon.org/local/sanctuary/kernriver. § Your support is critical to the success of the Kern River Pre- serve. Please consider making a do na tion by fi lling out the at tached form and mailing it to the Friends. OPTICS FOR BIRDING STAFF by Bob Barnes PRESERVE MANAGER ..............................REED TOLLEF SON There is nothing like a good pair of binoculars or a spotting OUTREACH DIRECTOR....................................BOB BAR NES scope to bring out the color, texture, and beauty of a bird’s MEDIA SERVICES ....................................ALISON SHEEHEY plumage. Optics for birding make seeing the details that aide ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT ....................SANDRA WIESER in identifi cation of a bird much easier, too. Clearly (pun in- MAINTENANCE & OPERATIONS.................................JEFF KING tended!), this article provides KRP Friends readers with a brief VOLUNTEERS MEMBERSHIP BUILDERS...................................EMILY DIGGLES discussion of what to think about when buying a new pair of SPECIAL PROJECTS binoculars or a spotting scope. TERESA BENSON, RON BOLYARD, EMILY COHEN, ERNIE The intention of optics in nature is to see birds (wildlife) as FLORES, BILL FOSTER, BIRDIE FOSTER, TERRI GAL- easily and clearly as possible. To be successful, optics should LION, RON GILLENTINE, DEBBIE KIGGENS, JIM KIGGENS, have appropriate magnifi cation (8X or 10X), a wide fi eld of DAVE KURDEKA, ESTEBAN OLIVARES, KATIE OLIVERAS view, close focus, a comfortable weight for the wearer, ease of use, and Old Friend continued from page 1 lenses that reveal destroyed by preda- images that are tors, parasitized by clear not only cowbirds or destroyed in the center of by the elements. Nev- each lens but at ertheless, he and his the edges, too. mates have fl edged at Eight power least 10 young, not a (8X) lenses make particularly high num- an object appear ber, but a determined eight times effort. closer, ten power A Cuckoo Wasp on yarrow with and without A view of the South Fork Valley from (10X), tens time close focus magnifi cation. © Nature Ali Cook Peak. © Nature Ali Weighing less than closer, and so 1⁄2 ounce, he migrated forth. The higher the magnifi cation the harder it is to hold the thousands of miles avoiding predators, starvation, power lines, image steady or fi nd it in an accompanying smaller fi eld of pesticides and he is back to try again. This spring, Violet-Light view. A wide fi eld of view is important because it helps keep Green and thousands of other birds and wildlife will be striv- an object such as a fl ying bird in your binoculars more easily. ing to survive and raise the next generation on the Kern River Preserve. Close focus allows the user to look at fl owers, small birds, butterfl ies and other insects at distances as close as three feet. Since Violet-Light Green left last fall we have worked The number of times I have had to step BACK to get a bird or hard at all of our programs: outreach and education, research, butterfl y in focus has convinced me that close focus distance is stewardship and land protection. Our Outreach and Education critical to my decision as to which binoculars to purchase and efforts included the Turkey Vulture and Bioregions Festivals, use. webpage and newsletter which help to connect people with the Preserve and build membership for the “Friends of the Kern Make sure the binoculars you purchase are as easy and River Preserve”. Research by the Southern Sierra Research quick to focus as possible from the very closest focus to Station included studying willow fl ycatcher habitat needs, 2 see Optics page 3 Friends of the Kern River Preserve Summer/Fall 2004 Optics continued from page 2 LOOK UP IN THE SKY IT'S A BIRD AND infinity. And, make sure the image is clear all around the ANOTHER BIRD AND ANOTHER BIRD! lens...from the center to all edges around the lenses. You do The 11th Annual Kern Valley Vulture Watch is 14 Septem- not want to own a pair of binoculars where the bird goes ber through 14 October, 2004. The whoosh of hundreds of blurry as it reaches the edge of your lenses due to poor quality wings flapping just over your head or the discovery of thou- manufacturing. When you check out binoculars, focus on a letter sands of vultures sneaking by at altitudes almost too high to on a distant sign and move the letter all around the field of the see is a thrill. Being up close and personal with such an array lens to see if it stays in focus. Do the same with a nearby object. of bird species, there is no pleasure like it. Weight of some binoculars can be a major issue with some Join Terri Gallion and her crew for another exciting season people. Ask. Keep in mind that some binocular straps are of vulture counting. This designed specifically to distribute weight away from your neck year there will be a new so you can wear binoculars for several hours without developing protocol as several teams localized pain. Again, ask. will try to capture the entire My recommendation? Assuming good quality, I recommend Kern River Valley migration binoculars in the 7X35 to 8X42 range. Some people can handle numbers and the path of exit and prefer 10X. And, I think close focus is very important. for each route during peak There are numerous manufacturers of high quality binoculars at migration. Counting and wide-ranging prices. Try out several until you find the ones you chase teams will be placed like. strategically throughout the To help you out... Go to http://optics4birding.com for area.
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