VOLUNTEER FIELD ASSISTANTS needed 15 Sept-13 Oct 2006 for 13th annual Kern Valley Turkey Vulture Watch, Weldon, California. This Turkey Vulture and hawk watch records one of the two largest documented vulture movements north of Mexico. Nearly 30,000 TuVus are counted each fall along with approximately 300 raptors of 13 species. Duties include counting 9AM-3PM every Friday (half days are OK), collecting temperature, wind and cloud cover data every hour and recording vulture and hawk data on site and after each daily count. Must have an interest in vulture and raptor observation, be able to accurately record information on data sheets, and maintain patient observation even in an apparently empty sky. The count site is located in a desert setting with spectacular views of the surrounding southern Sierra Nevada mountains of Sequoia National Forest. Weather during the count period may range from hot (90ºF) on afternoons in early September to cold (32ºF) on mornings in late October. No prior experience required.

Kern Valley Turkey Vulture Count

September 15 through October 13

WHO – YOU the VOLUNTEER

WHAT - Count migrating Turkey Vultures

WHEN - Fridays from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.

WHERE - Five miles south of the Kern River Preserve.

WHY – For science - Each year an average of 28,000 vultures pass through this valley on the way to their wintering grounds in Mexico and beyond.

MEET NEW PEOPLE – BE A CITIZEN SCIENTIST VOLUNTEER - HAVE FUN IN THE DESERT SUN

Who?

The Kern Valley Turkey Vulture Watch is run as an entirely volunteer project by Terri Gallion of Onyx, co-founder of the Kern Valley Vulture Watch.

Thank you volunteer vulture counters!
Lisa Allen, Phyllis Allin, Phil Allin, Jeff Amaral, Linda Anderson, Margaret Anderson, Linda Andrews, Bob Barnes, Darrell Barnes, Susan Blair, Ron Bolyard, Lloyd Brubacker, Jennifer Bruschi, Brenda Burnett, Dan Burnett, Susan Carter, Sophie Chang, Bob Chapman, Emily Cohen, Dan Cooper, Jeremy Ellis, Shelley Ellis, Rich Englehorn, John Fitch, Steve Fletcher, Birdie Foster, Bill Foster, Danny Foster, Joanna Foster, Terri Gallion, Bruce Garlinger, Marilyn Giles, Paul Giles, Kate Goodson, Traci Grant, Ellene Gravelle, Noel Gravelle, Trina Guerra, Carlos Gutierrez, Angela Hair, Murrelet Halterman, Larry Harlan, Joe Hart, Lois Hart, Dave Harvey, Phil Heavin, Donnie Higgins, Steve Holden, Ralph Hyde, Steve Irvine, Jim Jennings, Sandy Junkunc, Nancy Kenyon, Jim Kerr, Jeff King, Brenda Kyle, Ken Kyle, Amy Kuritsubo, Denise LaBerteaux, Lisa Lavelle, Thomas Lavelle, Buz Lunsford, Janet Lynn, Paul Mason, Dave Mason, Vikki Mazon, Janine McCabe, Ginger McGuire, Mehmet McMillan, Dale McMillan, Shannon McNeil, Erik Meriwether, Dori Meyers, Terri Middlemiss, Christine Miller, Marya Miller, Sue Mills, Clark Moore, Jean Moore, Rich Moore, Chris Otahal, Bob Parker, Julie Pierce, Wendy Rannals, Karen Ritchie, Nancy Robinson, Rob Robinson, Eli Rose, Sean Rowe, Justin Schuetz, Joyce Seibold, John Schmitt, Alison Sheehey, Beaujourn Shull, Vern Shull, Jacque Smith, Apple Snider, Bob Steele, Pamela Stones, Wendy Stroth, Lee Sutton, Shirley Sutton, Sharon Telford, Dave Telford, Ramona Van Riper, Thelma Valdez, Richard Verdugo, Spencer Verdugo, Sandra Wieser, Phillip Williams, JENNA-WILLOW, Al Woodman, Joanne Woodman, and Liza Zimring.

Thank you to the following for enlisting many of the volunteer counters listed above: Bob Barnes (Valley Wild), Cerro Coso College (Kern River Valley Campus), Kerncrest Audubon Society (eastern Kern County), Kern River Preserve (Weldon), Kern River Research Center (Weldon), Ornithological Newsletter, and Sea & Sage Audubon Society (Orange County).

If your name is not here, please let us know it was difficult to remember all the names of the many wonderful volunteers we have had over the years.

What?

Data collected from the field included: time of passing over the count site, species, number, flight behavior (e.g.: soaring, power flight, flap & glide), location from the count site as they passed over (east, center, west), bird observation comments, hourly temperature, hourly wind speed, hourly wind direction, hourly cloud type, hourly % of cloud cover, weather comments (visibility, precipitation, wind gust speeds, etc.). A daily bird and mammal species list was kept including a count of the number of individuals on some days.

When?

The count starts 14 September and conclude 14 October. Coverage will almost always take place between 0900 hrs. - 1500 hrs.

Where?

The count site is located where a northeast facing slope, Kelso Valley Road, and the Kelso Creek bed converge. This site is about five miles south of the intersection of State Highway 178 (milepost 57...fifty-seven miles northeast of Bakersfield) and Kelso Valley Road, Weldon, Kern County, California. Audubon-California's Kern River Preserve is across Hwy. 178 from the intersection.

Why a Turkey Vulture Count?

For years Kern River Valley residents noticed thousands of Turkey Vultures migrating southward in September and October. In 1994, under the auspices of the Kern River Research Center, staff member Sean Rowe and volunteer Terri Gallion started the first Kern Valley Vulture Watch. They wanted to document the magnitude of the vulture migration. The first Vulture Watch recorded 27,415 vultures - establishing one of the largest known migrations of Turkey Vultures over a single point north of Mexico. The September 1 - October 20, 2003 Vulture Watch tallied 30,458 vultures.

For ten years September 1st through October 20th since 1994 researchers and volunteers have counted Turkey Vultures migrating through the Kern River Valley. In 2004 the count period was shortened in an attempt to begin a new protocol to answer some of the questions below. This ongoing effort is conducted to monitor year to year changes in the migration. The Vulture Watch is slowly expanding to better answer questions such as:

What is their migration route from start to finish?

Where are their nightly roosts along the entire migration route?

What other migration routes do they use through California?

What is the magnitude of alternative migration routes?

You are welcome to come to the Kern River Valley to be a part of this research project and to help us find answers to these and other questions.

In celebration of this research effort and phenomenon of nature the 1st Annual Kern Valley Turkey Vulture Festival was initiated on the last weekend in September, 1995. It has been held every year since.

Volunteers are essential 

Volunteers are needed each year to help count vultures and raptors migrating through. The count site is manned everyday from 9 am to 3 pm, except rainy days (Turkey Vultures do not fly when it rains).

Turkey Vulture Count Statistics found on the Daily Turkey Vulture/Raptor Count Statistics page.