A Volunteer is needed to compile the Valley Sightings in the Chat, our newsletter. Bob Barnes volunteered to do it for 1 year, in Susan Steele’s absence. Susan is still retired and traveling. It would be a shame to see this 40 plus year column go defunct! Email Brenda at chatbird1@gmail.com to discuss.

An amazing report entitled Evaluating Encroachment Pressures on the Military Mission in the California Desert has been released discussing encroachment issues caused by urban development; renewable energy; electrical transmission lines; extractive industries like mining; recreation; and natural resource management. Interestingly, the report identifies the preservation of wilderness and other natural areas around military bases as […]

The Canebrake Ecological Reserve Public Access Trail is open again after 
being closed for two or more years. It is a lovely place for a morning stroll. The paved, handicapped-accessible trail is not in the greatest of shape, so a wheelchair, while it probably could get through, might require an occasional push from a friend. […]

Visit the Maturango Museum between July 13, 2017 and August 7, 2017 to walk among the winning bird photographs from this year’s Audubon Photography Awards. A panel of five judges had the daunting task of sifting through over 7,000 submissions to select the winners of the 2016-2017 Audubon Nature Photography Contest. . The images were […]

Was this the windiest the Kerncrest Birdathon has ever been? It would be interesting to know. I can remember days when the wind came up during the afternoon and blew whitecaps on the China Lake Ponds, but this year it blew all day. Nevertheless, we saw 104 species of birds, in spite of the fact […]

A dedication of an interpretive panel and sharing of stories about Shelley will be held in Sand Canyon at 2 pm on Sunday, April 23rd. Later, from 3:30 to 5:00 pm there will be refreshments, more tributes to Shelley and sharing of her photographs at the Maturango Museum.

An amusing and informative article, written by our very own founder Don Moore in 1990. Enjoy!

The Burnetts were directed by a friend recently to Birds and Beans when our then bird-friendly organic coffee source went extinct. We have been delighted with their service and their coffee. At $23 for a really-2-pound bag, it is a reasonable price for 100% Arabica, gourmet coffee. And it is fresh! Birds & Beans roasts […]

Kerncrest Audubon received a thank you card pictured above from the folks at the Poo-Poo Project. The thank you was for purchasing 10 Poo-Poo screens for the Sequoia National Forest to cover the large open vent pipes in vault toilets. This is closely aligned with the work we have done to cap open pipes and […]

From Bob Barnes: “HSVW ACQUISITION COMPLETED! As of this afternoon, [Feb 2] the Kern River Valley Heritage Foundation … is owner of the 189.26 acre Hot Springs Valley Wetlands Project property at the edge of the community of Lake Isabella. THANK YOU to hundreds of grassroots donors (including many, many of you), Audubon California, and […]