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Expert Review of Kern River Preserve

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Parks and Outdoors Review of Kern River Preserve

Away Travel Expert: Ann Marie Brown

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Birding

Parks and OutdoorsExpert Tips & Helpful Hints

• California's largest lowland riparian forest is found along the South Fork Kern River, creating a home for 200 species of nesting birds, including major populations of yellow-billed cuckoo, summer tanager, and willow flycatcher. The Audubon Society's Kern River Preserve is located here, and more than 330 bird species have been sighted on its 2,900 acres. The preserve is open daily, dawn to dusk.
• The Kern River Preserve hosts several annual festivals that attract birders from around the world, including the summer Hummingbird Festival and autumn Turkey Vulture Festival. The Kern River Valley is the self-proclaimed "Hummingbird Viewing Capital of California" and one of the two largest known turkey vulture migration sites in North America.
• The Kern Valley is also home to 138 species of butterflies, the highest concentration of lepidoptera found anywhere in California.