Birds of Kern County, California - Checklist

The current county tally of birds is 446 native species (NIB) plus 10 accepted introduced species (and 9 additional unaccepted introduced species), (+1 more if you count California Condor as introduced) bringing the official total to 456* accepted species. The list is current with The AOS (American Ornithological Society) Check-list of North American Birds, Seventh Edition, (August  2022 supplement) 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. EBird records 442 species including several non-countable introduced birds. (*If the Glossy Ibis is found to be a hybrid, the list will revert to 445 native species.)

 

Click here for a simple checklist to print and use in the field.

 

The 446th species Curve-billed Thrasher, snuck by me and was discovered on eBird while updating this checklist, it would actually be the 444th native species as it was discovered at Mojave Park on July 13, 2018 by Simon Kiesé. The 445th native species, Marsh Sandpiper, was observed by William Rockey on March 29, 2020 at the Kern National Wildlife Refuge. The 444th native bird, Glossy Ibis, was observed by John Sterling on the Kern Water Bank on April 23, 2019, it is being recirculated as a potential hybrid, stay tuned to see if it is tossed out. The 443rd native addition a Violet-crowned Hummingbird was observed by John Stanek on the Kern River Preserve on July 7, 2018. The 442nd native addition is a specialty resident of post-fire forest, the Cedar Fire in the Greenhorn Mountains created habitat for a small population of Black-backed Woodpecker found on July 18, 2017. Wendy Rannals of the Forest Service mentioned to Alison Sheehey that she had heard a bird and Alison confirmed this new county record species. The 441st county record was heard hooting "who cooks for you?" on June 2, 2017 by Jenna and John Stanek in the Greenhorn Mountains. The Barred Owl has long been feared to enter the territory of the dwindling California Spotted Owl, a week later Elias Elias recorded the bird and disturbingly the video shows a "Sparred Owl" with a Barred Owl hoot. An armchair record for Kern County brought the 440th native species with the AOU split of Western Scrub-jay into California Scrub-Jay and Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay.  Cordilleran Flycatcher, Empidonax occidentalis was recorded at Galileo Hill on 1 June 2016 by Curtis Marantz (I had heard this bird a day earlier but was unable to convince anyone to corroborate it,) making this the 439th native species recorded in Kern County. The 438th native species was found by Nick and Mary Freeman on 15 May 2016, a Buff-breasted Flycatcher was photographed and identified post-birding. A Neotropic Cormorant was discovered at Lake Ming on May 11, 2015 by George Griffeth making it the 437th native species. Pine Warbler is Kern's 436th native species discovered by Pine Warbler found by Tom Benson, Matt Grube, David Rankin, and Brad Singer on 8 November 2014 at Desert Memorial Park in Ridgecrest. Ken & Brenda Kyle discovered the 435th native species for Kern a Red-faced Warbler on 7 October 2014 at Galileo Hill. The 434th native species was found by Susan Steele on May 2, 2014, she observed a Gull-billed Tern at the highly restricted southern evaporation ponds just north of the Kern National Wildlife Refuge. The potential 434th species was removed after being revealed it was only seen in Ventura County so a sighting of a Green Violetear photographed by Steven W. Cardiff between July 30 and August 1, 1977 was re-reviewed by the CBRC and accepted in 2005 after a photograph was produced but not in Kern County. The AOU provided Kern with its 433rd native species by splitting the Sage Sparrow into two species. Sage Sparrow becomes Bell's Sparrow - Artemisiospiza belli which breeds in Kern and Sagebrush Sparrow - Artemisiospiza nevadensis which migrates through and possibly winters in Kern County. On May 5, 2013, Bob Barnes found Kern's 432nd species with the sighting of Grace's Warbler at Cerro Coso College in Ridgecrest. On May 7, 2011, Susan Steele discovered the 431st NIB bird with a female Pyrrhuloxia in the Kern desert. In the summer of 2009, Jon Feenstra's pair of Black-tailed Gnatcatchers breeding southeastern Kern made the 430th NIB county record. Susan Steele found a Lesser Black-backed Gull, the 429th species on December 21st, 2008, at Buena Vista Lake. Susan & Bob Steele found the 428^th county bird, Common Black Hawk, at Galileo Hill on 27 April 2008. Bill Foster observed the 427^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 426^th, 425^th, and 424^th NIB species respectively to the list. Ryan Terrill's sighting of an Upland Sandpiper* added the 423^rd and Tom Wurster's sighting of a Yellow-footed Gull added the 422^nd NIB species to the list. The split of Canada Goose and Cackling Goose added the 421^st NIB species to the list in July 2004.

 

CBRC species that are accepted such as Chukar (which is bred and released for hunters regularly) and others that are not accepted as in Rose-ringed Parakeet makes the whole idea of accepting some introduced species and not others which fulfill every criteria a bothersome quandary. Scaly-breasted Munia are on the list as of 2017 as they are being documented across the county. Another new but not accepted on the CBRC checklist is the Northern Red Bishop discovered by Dan Cooper on 7 Sep 2018 at Galileo Hill. European Goldfinch have been seen sporadically in Kern County for years, Mickey Dyke recorded one in Rosemond on 6 Apr 2017. 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) because these records are important in tracking origins of potentially naturalized species. Some rarities found are reviewed 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 Kelli Levinson Kern County's compiler for American Birds. Although, I have been lambasted by elitist birders for including "not credible" species, 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 provisional, 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 is occurring.

 

Susan Steele, Bob Barnes, and Ken & Brenda Kyle are key to finding and publicizing new and rare species, without their keen observations 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 RIP, Bob & Susan Steele, John Sterling, Mary Beth Stowe, John Wilson and others, from information gleaned from eBird, CalBird, Kern County Birding, and from my own field notes.

 

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 Susan Steele comes darn close!). Enjoy birding Kern County. 

 

All thumbnails except those cited otherwise are taken by Alison Sheehey © (available as larger images), if there is not an image it generally means that would be a life bird for me or life photograph, email me if you see something in the field that I need to photograph. These images are taken all over the country, but each bird has been documented in Kern. For fantastic bird and butterfly photos of most of these species check out Bob Steele's website. http://www.bobsteelephoto.com.

bold italics with asterisk * = CBRC review species

ITALICS WITH ASTERISK * = exceptional, rare visitants or vagrants

(E) = endangered species; (T) = threatened species; (FP) = Fully Protected by CDFG; (SSC)(BCC) = species (bird) of special (conservation) concern; sensitive = listed as sensitive with USFS or BLM; (W) = watch list; (I) = introduced