Birds of Kern County, California: A photo checklist

The current county tally of birds is 427 native species (NIB) plus 14 introduced species, (15 if you count California Condor as introduced) bringing the total to 441 species. The list is current with The A.O.U. (American Ornithologist's Union) Check-list of North American Birds, Seventh Edition, (July 2007 update) listing order and nomenclature. The list represents records of resident, migrant, visitant, and vagrant species. Habitats are extremely varied within the county and include: great basin, wetland, desert, montane, riparian, chaparral, and grassland habitats. Very few species have been recorded in every habitat. What is extremely common in one county location may be unheard of or exceptional in another. These birds have been documented over the past 150 years.

Again Susan & Bob Steele found the 427^th county bird, Common Black Hawk, at Galileo Hill on 27 April 2008. Bill Foster observed the 426^th NIB species, Crested Caracara, in March 2008. Susan and Bob Steele's discovery of an Arctic Warbler in September 2007 and a Hudsonian Godwit in June 2007 and Wood Sandpiper in May 2007 added the 425^th, 424^th, and 423^rd NIB species respectively to the list. Ryan Terrill's sighting of an Upland Sandpiper* added the 422^nd and Tom Werster's sighting of a Yellow-footed Gull added the 421^st NIB species to the list. The split of Canada Goose and Cackling Goose added the 420^th NIB species to the list in July 2004. I include species that are subject to verification as to their origin and introduced species that do not appear on the Western Field Ornithologists' official California list (eg. psittacids). Some rarities are still under review by the California Bird Records Committee (CBRC). All birds appearing in bold italics with an asterisk * are California Review Species by the CBRC. Italicized birds with an asterisk * are exceptional rare visitants or vagrants (this was originally done with John Wilson's and Mike Feighner's assistance), any corrections from KC birders or CBRC reviewers are welcome. Any birds not appearing on this list or that have an asterisk need to be documented and sent to the CBRC and to John Wilson Kern County's compiler for American Birds. Please send a cc to NatureAli. I made an executive decision to add certain species that are most assuredly captive escapes/releases but deserve mention to give readers an understanding of how such a species could occur, eg. Harris's Hawk. The Trumpeter Swan is problematic, Grinnell & Miller list it in the Birds of California, but it is a weak sighting, a possible sighting in Dec. 2003 had me put it on the list. All young swans should be carefully documented as range expansion for this sensitive species could occur. See Kern Introduced Species for others not included on this list.

Susan & Bob Steele, Bob Barnes, Ken & Brenda Kyle, John Wilson, and Michael McQuerrey are key players in the recording of new and rare species, without their keen record keeping this list would languish. The original list is a compilation of many birders list's. Information was compiled using David Blue's list from March of 1997, Rick Saval's Kern County Birds, Birds of the Kern River Parkway, Birds of Kern National Wildlife Refuge, Birds of the Kern River Valley, and Birds of Indian Wells Valley. Updates are found by reviewing the AOU supplements, from John Wilson's Field Notes for American Birds, information provided to me by area birders: Bob Barnes, Mike Feighner, Gary File, Barbara Mansfield, Michael McQuerrey, Bob & Susan Steele, John Sterling, Mary Beth Stowe, John Wilson and others, from information gleaned from CalBird and Kern County Birding, and from my own field notes. I have been slowly adding the status and distribution of the species, please be patient as I do this in my SPARE time. For questions or corrections please contact Alison Sheehey by phone (760) 378-2029 or Email

Exceptionally devoted birders can reach 300 birds and up. No county birder has seen all of the listed species within the borders of Kern County (although Matt Heindel comes darn close!). Enjoy birding Kern County.

Click here for a simple checklist to print and use in the field. For fantastic photos of most of these species check out Bob Steele's website. http://www.bobsteelephoto.com

1	Black-bellied Whistling-Duck*	Dendrocygna autumnalis	BV Lake	One sighting only: 19 June 1938
2	Fulvous Whistling-Duck *	Dendrocygna bicolor	KNWR	rare
3	Greater White-fronted Goose	Anser albifrons	lakes, marshes rivers	winter. Easily confused with the domestic graylag goose.
4	Snow Goose	Chen caerulescens	lakes, marshes rivers	rare winter visitor to the Southern Valley. Several hundred winter in the Mojave desert
5	Ross's Goose	Chen rossii	lakes, marshes rivers	uncommon winter resident of the southern valley. Rare in the desert.
6	Brant * Photo courtesy Bob Steele ©	Branta bernicla	marshes	exceptional vagrant
7	Cackling Goose Photo courtesy Bob Steele ©	Branta hutchinsii	lakes	the small races of Canada Goose familiar to those in the central valley were split in the summer of 2004. Found most commonly in winter
8	Canada Goose	Branta canadensis	lakes, marshes rivers	winter visitor to the county. Small flocks now permanently residing at Buena Vista Lake, Lake Ming, and Kern Water Agency HQ
9	Trumpeter Swan* Photo courtesy Bob Steele ©	Cygnus buccinator	lakes	Buena Vista Lake 10 1893 in Grinnell & Miller. 1X only Questionable sighting
10	Tundra Swan	Cygnus columbianus	lakes, rivers	rare migrant and winter visitant
11	Muscovy Duck (I)	Cairina moschata
12	Wood Duck	Aix sponsa	lakes and rivers	uncommon resident only because of its habits. Shy and retiring find the wood duck near cover. Nests along the Kern River from South Fork to Buena Vista
13	Gadwall	Anas strepera
14	Eurasian Wigeon * Photo courtesy Dan Lockshaw © 2002	Anas penelope
15	American Wigeon	Anas americana	shallow lakes and ponds	uncommon to common in central valley lakes and marshes
16	Mallard	Anas platyrhynchos	lakes and ponds, canals, rivers	abundant resident found in ponds and watercourses throughout the county. Mixed populations of domestic and wild ducks common.
17	Blue-winged Teal	Anas discors	lakes and shallow ponds	found in desert oases and at Kern National Wildlife refuge , uncommon but hard to tell difference in eclipse plumage from Cinnamon Teal.
18	Cinnamon Teal	Anas cyanoptera	shallow waters of lakes and ponds	yearround nesting resident, common in appropriate habitat.
19	Northern Shoveler	Anas clypeata
20	Northern Pintail Photo courtesy Dan Lockshaw © 2000	Anas acuta
21	Garganey *	Anas querquedula
22	Green-winged Teal	Anas crecca
23	Canvasback	Aythya valisineria
24	Redhead	Aythya americana
25	Ring-necked Duck	Aythya collaris
26	Tufted Duck *	Aythya fuligula
27	Greater Scaup *	Aythya marila
28	Lesser Scaup	Aythya affinis
29	Surf Scoter *	Melanitta perspicillata
30	White-winged Scoter *	Melanitta fusca
31	Long-tailed Duck *	Clangula hyemalis
32	Bufflehead	Bucephala albeola
33	Common Goldeneye	Bucephala clangula	lakes rivers	uncommon winter resident
34	Barrow's Goldeneye *	Bucephala islandica	lakes	exceptionally rare visitor
35	Hooded Merganser	Lophodytes cucullatus	lakes and ponds, canals, rivers	uncommon winter resident found in ponds and watercourses with cover
36	Common Merganser	Mergus merganser	deep water lakes, rivers, canals	uncommon breeding resident very common in winter
37	Red-breasted Merganser *	Mergus serrator	deep water lakes	rare visitor during winter
38	Ruddy Duck	Oxyura jamaicensis	lakes ponds	breeding resident common in shallow lakes and ponds
39	Chukar (I)	Alectoris chukar	grassland, desert, oak woodland, near water sources	Introduced from Calcutta, India in 1932. Continuous restocking make this species a tough one to count, as a wild bird. Breeding at Galileo and San Emigdio
40	Ring-necked Pheasant (I)	Phasianus colchicus	grassland, shrubland, marshes, grain fields	introductions of these Chinese birds began in 1889 by fish & game. there are some good size flocks around the county where hunting is restricted
41	Common Peafowl (I)	Pavo cristatus		A flock of peafowl are breeding at Hart Park in Bakersfield, these are related to the birds at the old zoo
42	Sooty Grouse	Dendragapus fuliginosus	montane	extremely rare now due to hunting pressure. May soon be extinct within county as only one flock determined to still exist.
43	Wild Turkey (I)	Meleagris gallopavo	montane, grassland, marsh, riparian, woodland	This species is continually released for the benefit of hunters. It is an eastern North American species.
44	Mountain Quail	Oreortyx pictus	montane, desert facing canyons	relatively common but seldom seen in the mountains. Look for birds at Butterbredt Spring, they prefer brushy areas in the conifer forest and deserts
45	California Quail	Callipepla californica	grassland, shrubland, woodland, riparian	California's state bird is common in its habitat. Listen for its "Chi- CA-go" call. Some flocks can number close to 1000, although most are much smaller family groups.
46	Gambel's Quail (I) Photo courtesy Bob Steele ©	Callipepla gambelii	desert near permanent water sources	This species was introduced to Kern, the nearest natural occurrence in San Bernardino County on Mohave River.
47	Red-throated Loon *	Gavia stellata	Lake Isabella	fall, winter exceptional
48	Pacific Loon	Gavia pacifica	mountain, desert lakes	rare fall through spring
49	Common Loon	Gavia immer California species of concern	mountain, valley lakes, recharge areas, aqueduct	uncommon Sept. thru May
50	Pied-billed Grebe	Podilymbus podiceps	countywide lakes, rivers, marshes, wetlands.	common, resident nesting.
51	Horned Grebe *	Podiceps auritus	countywide lakes	rare fall thru spring
52	Red-necked Grebe *	Podiceps grisegena	mountain lakes	exceptional, fall winter
53	Eared Grebe	Podiceps nigricollis	countywide, lakes, marshes, wetlands	common to uncommon year-round in appropriate habitat
54	Western Grebe	Aechmophorus occidentalis	countywide, lakes	abundant to common in appropriate habitat, nesting
55	Clark's Grebe	Aechmophorus clarkii	countywide, lakes	common to uncommon in appropriate habitat, nesting
56	American White Pelican	Pelecanus erythrorhynchos California species of concern	countywide, lakes, marshes, waste water treatment areas	uncommon to common
57	Brown Pelican *	Pelecanus occidentalis federally endangered California endangered	desert, mountain, lakes	exceptional fall
58	Double-crested Cormorant	Phalacrocorax auritus California species of concern	countywide lakes, rivers	common winter, fall, spring, uncommon summer
59	Magnificent Frigatebird * Photo courtesy Bob Steele ©	Fregata magnificens	Lake Isabella	exceptional August 1X only
60	American Bittern	Botaurus lentiginosus California sensitive species	An uncommon resident in the San Joaquin Valley, Kern Valley and Mojave Desert.	Prefers cattail / tule marshes. Breeding at Kern National Wildlife Refuge and unconfirmed in the Kern Valley.
61	Least Bittern *	Ixobrychus exilis California species of concern	Formerly bred in the Kern Valley but no recent records.	Extremely shy and very rarely seen (hence my drawing instead of a photo). Prefers cattail / tule marshes in the valleys, few records for the Kern desert but there are breeding records to the north in Inyo County.
62	Great Blue Heron	Ardea herodias California sensitive species	A breeding resident throughout the county.	Great Blue Herons nest in trees in communal rookeries. Relatively common in appropriate habitat year round.
63	Great Egret	Ardea alba California sensitive species	Breeding is not confirmed but suspected at the City of Bakersfield 2800-acre recharge basin.	Common along the Kern River especially in winter and spring. Found in varying numbers throughout the county.
64	Snowy Egret	Egretta thula	A rare breeder in the San Joaquin Valley.	Frequents open cottonwood/willow forests, and cattail / tule marshes. Fairly common in the Tulare and Kern River Basins. Uncommon to rare in the Kern Valley and the desert.
65	Little Blue Heron *	Egretta caerulea	Only observed 3X in county at Edwards Air Force Base and California City	exceptional summer visitant
66	Cattle Egret	Bubulcus ibis	A breeding resident in the San Joaquin Valley.	Prefers rather stinky places like sewer ponds and feedlots. Very common at landfills and sewer ponds in the Bakersfield area. Less common to rare in rest of the county.
67	Green Heron	Butorides virescens	A breeding resident in the San Joaquin Valley, Kern Valley and Mojave Desert. Prefers the edges and underbrush along streams and in marshes.	A shy and inconspicuous bird that is uncommon in appropriate habitat in the valleys, and rare in the desert. countywide, tule marshes, vegetated canals
68	Black-crowned Night-Heron	Nycticorax nycticorax	A breeding resident in the San Joaquin Valley, Kern Valley and Mojave Desert. countywide, parks, rivers, lakes, marshes	Prefers cattail / tule marshes. Relatively abundant to common in appropriate habitat in the valleys, less common to rare in the desert.
69	White-faced Ibis	Plegadis chihi Federal species of concern California species of concern	countywide, marshes, ponds	uncommon nesting
70	Roseate Spoonbill *	Platalea ajaja	valley, marshes	exceptional seen 1X only
71	Wood Stork *	Mycteria americana	valley, marshes	exceptional seen 1X only
72	Turkey Vulture	Cathartes aura	countywide, all habitats	uncommon nesting common migrant, split migration routes through Kern Valley and Tehachapi via Bakersfield
73	California Condor	Gymnogyps californianus Federal endangered species California endangered species	Tehachapis, Greenhorn Mountains	reintroduced population see Don Roberson's page about countability
74	Osprey	Pandion haliaetus
75	White-tailed Kite	Elanus leucurus
76	Mississippi Kite *	Ictinia mississippiensis
77	Bald Eagle	Haliaeetus leucocephalus
78	Northern Harrier	Circus cyaneus
79	Sharp-shinned Hawk	Accipiter striatus
80	Cooper's Hawk	Accipiter cooperii
81	Northern Goshawk	Accipiter gentilis
82	Common Black Hawk *	Buteogallus anthracinus	Lakes stocked with fish	Bob & Susan Steele found on 27 April 2008 at Galileo Hill
83	Harris's Hawk *(I)	Parabuteo unicinctus	seen in Kern River Valley and northern Mojave	most likely falconer's escape
84	Red-shouldered Hawk	Buteo lineatus
85	Broad-winged Hawk *	Buteo platypterus
86	Swainson's Hawk	Buteo swainsoni
87	Zone-tailed Hawk *	Buteo albonotatus
88	Red-tailed Hawk	Buteo jamaicensis
89	Ferruginous Hawk	Buteo regalis
90	Rough-legged Hawk	Buteo lagopus
91	Golden Eagle	Aquila chrysaetos
92	Crested Caracara*	Caracara cheriway	grassland - riparian forest	Bill Foster - 25 March 2008 - Kern River Preserve
93	American Kestrel	Falco sparverius
94	Merlin	Falco columbarius
95	Peregrine Falcon	Falco peregrinus
96	Prairie Falcon	Falco mexicanus
97	Virginia Rail	Rallus limicola	marshes
98	Sora	Porzana carolina	marshes
99	Common Moorhen	Gallinula chloropus
100	American Coot	Fulica americana
101	Sandhill Crane	Grus canadensis Lesser Sandhill Crane - state species of concern G. c. canadensis (Linnaeus) Greater Sandhill Crane - state threatened species G. c. tabida (Peters)	marshes, grassland, irrigated pasture, agricultural fields	rare and local in winter. Just to the north in Tulare County at Pixley Refuge, thousands can easily be seen from November through February.
102	Black-bellied Plover	Pluvialis squatarola
103	American Golden-Plover *	Pluvialis dominica
104	Pacific Golden-Plover *	Pluvialis fulva
105	Snowy Plover	Charadrius alexandrinus
106	Semipalmated Plover	Charadrius semipalmatus
107	Killdeer	Charadrius vociferus
108	Mountain Plover	Charadrius montanus
109	Black-necked Stilt	Himantopus mexicanus
110	American Avocet	Recurvirostra americana
111	Spotted Sandpiper	Actitis macularius
112	Solitary Sandpiper	Tringa solitaria
113	Wandering Tattler *	Tringa incana
114	Greater Yellowlegs	Tringa melanoleuca
115	Willet	Tringa semipalmata
116	Lesser Yellowlegs	Tringa flavipes
117	Wood Sandpiper *	Tringa glareola		Susan Steele - China Lake 23 May 07
118	Upland Sandpiper *	Bartramia longicauda		Ryan Terrill - Galileo - 4 Jun 06
119	Whimbrel	Numenius phaeopus
120	Long-billed Curlew	Numenius americanus
121	*Hudsonian Godwit*	Limosa haemastica		Susan Steele - China Lake 7 Jun 07
122	Marbled Godwit	Limosa fedoa
123	Ruddy Turnstone *	Arenaria interpres
124	Black Turnstone *	Arenaria melanocephala
125	Red Knot *	Calidris canutus
126	Sanderling	Calidris alba
127	Semipalmated Sandpiper	Calidris pusilla
128	Western Sandpiper	Calidris mauri
129	Red-necked Stint *	Calidris ruficollis		Susan Steele - China Lake 2005
130	Least Sandpiper	Calidris minutilla
131	White-rumped Sandpiper *	Calidris fuscicollis	25 May 2000	China Lake
132	Baird's Sandpiper	Calidris bairdii
133	Pectoral Sandpiper	Calidris melanotos
134	Sharp-tailed Sandpiper *	Calidris acuminata
135	Dunlin	Calidris alpina
136	Curlew Sandpiper *	Calidris ferruginea	July 2001	Kern Desert
137	Stilt Sandpiper	Calidris himantopus
138	Buff-breasted Sandpiper *	Tryngites subruficollis
139	Ruff *	Philomachus pugnax
140	Short-billed Dowitcher	Limnodromus griseus
141	Long-billed Dowitcher	Limnodromus scolopaceus
142	Wilson's Snipe	Gallinago delicata
143	Wilson's Phalarope	Phalaropus tricolor
144	Red-necked Phalarope	Phalaropus lobatus
145	Red Phalarope *	Phalaropus fulicarius
146	Laughing Gull *	Larus atricilla
147	Franklin's Gull	Larus pipixcan
148	Little Gull *	Larus minutus
149	Bonaparte's Gull	Larus philadelphia
150	Heermann's Gull *	Larus heermanni
151	Mew Gull *	Larus canus
152	Ring-billed Gull	Larus delawarensis
153	California Gull	Larus californicus
154	Herring Gull	Larus argentatus
155	Thayer's Gull *	Larus thayeri
156	Yellow-footed Gull*	Larus livens		April 2006 Tom Werster, China Lake
157	Western Gull *	Larus occidentalis		Exceptional visitor to Kern. This common coastal gull is truly a sea gull as it rarely ventures inland.
158	Glaucous-winged Gull *	Larus glaucescens
159	Glaucous Gull *	Larus hyperboreus
160	Sabine's Gull	Xema sabini
161	Black-legged Kittiwake *	Rissa tridactyla
162	Least Tern *	Sternula antillarum
163	Caspian Tern	Hydroprogne caspia
164	Black Tern	Chlidonias niger
165	Common Tern *	Sterna hirundo
166	Arctic Tern *	Sterna paradisaea
167	Forster's Tern	Sterna forsteri
168	Black Skimmer *	Rynchops niger
169	Pomarine Jaeger *	Stercorarius pomarinus
170	Parasitic Jaeger *	Stercorarius parasiticus
171	Long-tailed Jaeger *	Stercorarius longicaudus