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
