March 25, 2009: Palm Springs to Kern County, California

After the conclusion of the conference today I had some time to run up to Kern County to do some birding. The drive north was also very nice, with the desert blooming (driving up US-395 from just north of San Bernardino, to near Inyokern). Then I headed over Walker Pass (Route 178) to the Kern River Valley. Then, in the evening, I headed over to Bakersfield, and south on I-5 to the LAX area.

US-395 shots:

This was a lonely road!

Above and Below: Joshua Tree desert

Above and below: Blooming Desert

Scenery around Inyokern, CA

Spent some time in the Middlemiss family backyard in Inyokern - they have a landscaped backyard with the elusive Le Conte's Thrasher... and some good scenery!

Above and below: Cactus in the yard

Dried berries from last season

A sick looking Lesser Goldfinch

Pine Siskins

Above and Below: California Quail

Nice backyard scenery (above and below)

Above and Below: Le Conte's Thrasher

Verdin

Some nice Joshua tree scenery on the way to Kern River Valley

Kern River Preserve

Lark Sparrow

Dark-Eyed (Oregon) Junco

Turkey Vulture

Tri-Colored Blackbirds?

Brewer's Blackbird (above and below)

Scrub Jay (Walker Pass - CA Route 178)

A portion of the Pacific Crest Trail that I hiked on briefly, near Walker Pass