Alison Sheehey - Outreach Program Coordinator - Audubon California Kern River Preserve

The Kern River Valley has poppies. So many of the hills are green with an orange and yellow frosting of poppies and coreopsis. The best display of poppies is near the northern boundary of Audubon's Kern River Preserve just north of the South Fork bridge in Weldon. Almost the entire slope is full of brilliant orange California poppies with an occasional mutant yellow poppy thrown in for good measure. Along Sierra Way, between Weldon and Kernville, many wonderful plants are in bloom! Along the road, chia, globe gilia, coreopsis, brown-eyed primrose, red maids, Bishop lotus, spider lupine and miniature lupine get more abundant each day. KRP's poppy hill is the only location of desert dandelion, which is only found in one swale.

Continuing along Sierra Way, tansy phacelia, slender keel fruit and fiddleneck have greened the roadside and are beginning to add beautiful color. Above both Stine and Robinson Coves the top of the hills are golden with coreopsis and poppy. Continue further and popcorn flower begins to add white to the green grass. Popcorn flowers just get better and better as you continue up the north fork.

Poppies are blooming in the valley as vibrantly as the one pictured above.

Right near the airport there is a riot of yellow patty pan poppies. Continue driving north on Sierra Way (which turns into Mtn. 99) toward RiverKern and you'll notice the hills between Kernville and Owens Boy's Camp are full of popcorn flower, goldfields and bird's eye gilia. Just a few owl's clover are blooming all along the road, but I suspect in a week or so this now white,yellow and pale blue hill will be graced with a pink hue as well. During yesterday's adventure, we also found yellow comet, baby blue eyes,

California mustard, false gilia, Pringle's wooly sunflower, hill suncup, Coulter's jewelflower, tansy mustard, miner's lettuce, biscuitroot, blue dicks, pepperweed, filaree, and pitted onion in bloom.

I think the poppies are peaking but the rest of the show is a little way off. Nights remain at or near freezing so many plants won't bloom until the temperatures stay 40 F or above for a few nights running.

I will post photos of yesterday's wildflower wanderings on the March wildflower page soon. http://www.natureali.org/March_2008.htm. It looks to be a fun wildflower season in the Kern River Valley.