Field Trip Logistics

Fees
Trip fees vary. Please read very carefully the fees for each individual field trip. Owling trips may be significantly higher in cost when participation per trip is highly restricted.

Trip Planning
Trip fees cover personalized trip planning services (E-mail: bbarnes@lightspeed.net, Phone: 760-382-1260). Trips listed may or may not go any day (except those listed on Saturday/Sunday), please list days you will attend the festival and trips desired and Bob Barnes, the trips coordinator, will arrange your personalized schedule.

Payment
There is no pre-payment for field trips or dinners. Payments for all field trips will be made during the festival. Fees will be collected at the start of your first field trip or at the dinner registration table unless otherwise directed at that time.

Where to Meet - Carpool Locations

Field trips will start and end at more than one location. Be sure to check the detailed festival schedule very carefully to determine exactly where each of your field trips start and end. Please arrive at each trip’s departure point 10-15 minutes before scheduled departure.

1. Lake Isabella Park-and-Ride - Meet up to 15 minute prior to departure. Take Hwy 155 exit off Hwy 178. Turn toward Wofford Heights. Park and ride is in front of Lake Isabella Motel.

2. Kissack Bay, Mountain Mesa - Meet 5 minutes prior to workshop time. Kissack Bay (Cove) is located in the hamlet of Mountain Mesa along Highway 178. Mileage from the Kern River Preserve to Kissack Bay is just under 7 miles. Turn toward the reservoir by the sign at the west edge of Mountain Mesa. Meet your group and follow your leader from the entrance (do not be late - as the leader may leave this location if the gulls are in another part of the reservoir).

3. Kern River Preserve, Weldon - Meet up to 15 minute before scheduled departure time. Take Hwy 178 to entrance to Kern River Preserve, drive .2 miles on dirt road to Audubon property. Continue through forest and bear left along road, continue past parking area and park beyond the trees at sign designating field trip parking. Park straight in toward the trees or bushes, form only two rows, do not parallel park.

4. Fay Ranch Road (Sprague Ranch) Weldon - Meet up to 15 minutes prior to departure. Take Hwy 178 to Fay Ranch Road, drive 1.6 miles and turn left at gate near open hay barn. Park straight in along fence line on both north and south sides of fence. Do not block hay barn. If needed create a third row in center. Do not parallel park. Do not drive beyond hay barn area.

5. Riverside Park, Kernville - Meet up to 15 minutes prior to departure. Take Kernville Road to Riverside Park across from Riverside One Stop (Shell gas station). Take opportunity to use restrooms at this stop.

TWO NEW CARPOOL LOCATIONS

1. Shell Station, Pearsonville - Meet up to 15 minutes prior to departure. Carpool from the Shell Station, Hwy 14, Pearsonville, Inyo County (border of Kern County). Gas, restrooms, and snack food available at this stop.

2. Family Life Center - Owling Trips meet at Family Life Center, Wofford Heights at 5:30 pm. The Center is the Foursquare Gospel Church gymnasium and is the largest building in Wofford Heights and is located just uphill from Charlie's Market (on the mountain side of the main drive through Wofford Heights). The Center is across the main street and uphill one small block from the Reel Cinema and Elk's Club (2nd largest building in Wofford Heights).Option to have dinner ($20) per person. RSVP. krpfriends@audubon.org

DINNER & PROGRAM LOCATION

Family Life Center - Panorama & Sycamore, Wofford Heights. Friday and Saturday night dinners. NOTE: The Center is the Foursquare Gospel Church gymnasium and is the largest building in Wofford Heights and is located just uphill from Charlie's Market (on the mountain side of the main drive through Wofford Heights). The Center is across the main street and uphill one small block from the Reel Cinema and Elk's Club (2nd largest building in Wofford Heights). This location is 5-8 minutes driving time from Kernville accommodations and 20 minutes from the Lakeview Motel in Mountain Mesa.

What to Bring
All trips will be via private car caravan. Carpooling is highly encouraged. Bring food and water to last all day. Bring comfortable walking shoes and layered clothing for weather that may range from cloudless to rainy and cold to hot. If possible, bring two-way radios for inter-car communication.

Magazine Articles
California Cornucopia - Birding Kern County by Bob Steele, WildBird Magazine, September/October 2005.
(Available by going to: http://www.bobsteelephoto.com/home/articles/birding_Kern.html)

Find It Here! The Kern River Valley and Southern Sierra Nevada of California by Bob Barnes and Bob Steele, in the American Birding Association’s Birding magazine, April 2003.
(Available by going to http://www.bobsteelephoto.com/home/articles/Kern2.pdf)

Kern and Tulare Counties bird sightings (Available by going to www.birdingonthe.net)

Reference Books
A Birder’s Guide to Southern California edited by Brad Schram, American Birding Association, 2007 (Kern River Valley and Southern Sierra Nevada, pp. 120-139; Kern Desert Oases and Piute Mountains, pp. 140-147; Inyokern – Le Conte’s Thrasher, pp. 148-149; and Other Good Birding Spots – Kern County, pp. 328-332)

Birding Northern California by John Kemper, The Globe Pequot Press, 2001 (Western Divide Highway, pp. 319-321 and Kern River Valley, pp. 322-326)

Web Sites
Kern County Birding – www.natureali.org/birding.htm
Kern River Valley Birding - www.krvbirding.org
Kern and Tulare Counties bird sightings - www.birdingonthe.net/birdmail.html
Bob Steele Photography - http://www.bobsteelephoto.com/home

Other References (butterflies, other insects, other vertebrates, plants, general natural history) http://www.naba.org/meeting/planning.html

Travel Information
Click this link for maps and travel information.

Accommodations
Click here for Hotel and Camping Information. The Kernville Chamber of Commerce may also provide lodging information. Phone: (760) 376-2629.

A big thank you to all of the 2009 Festival Sponsors: (Kern River Preserve), Bob Barnes & Associates, Friends of the Kern River Preserve, Kerncrest Audubon Society, Kern River Valley Revitalization, Inc., Southern Sierra Research Center, USDA- Forest Service – Sequoia National Forest, and

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