Bird watching sites in Southern California
About 31% of visitors to the Angeles National Forest go there to view wildlife, including species like this red-winged blackbird, according to the U.S. Forestry Service.
701 N. Santa Anita Ave.
Arcadia, 91006
(626) 574-1613
www.fs.fed.us/r5/angeles/
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Southern California is one of the best places in the world to watch birds, from its coastal habitats to its wetlands, lakes, reservoirs and rivers. Here are some of our favorite spots that are also popular among birding enthusiasts and clubs. Join us and our feathered friends on the Pacific Flyway!
-- Craig Howie, Los Angeles Times
A heron keeps a close eye on a visitor to Lake Balboa in the Sepulveda Flood Control Basin near Van Nuys. Birds here include ducks, Egyptian geese and cormorants.
6300 Balboa Blvd.
Van Nuys, 91406
(818) 756-9743
www.laparks.org/dos/aquatic/facility/lakeBalboa.htm
(Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)
Colorful hummingbirds entertain tourists and bird-watchers alike at Mission San Juan Capistrano in Orange County.
26801 Ortega Highway
San Juan Capistrano, 92675
(949) 234-1300
www.missionsjc.com/
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
More than 200 species of marine bird species at Ballona Wetlands near Marina del Rey include this beautiful great blue heron.
Lincoln Boulevard and West Jefferson Boulevard, Los Angeles, 90094
www.ballonafriends.org
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
A tourist relaxes among the seabirds at Aliso Beach in Orange County.
31131 S. Pacific Coast Highway
Laguna Beach, 92652
(949) 923-2280 or (949) 923-2283
www.ocparks.com/Alisobeach
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
A rare Nutting’s flycatcher, more commonly found in Mexico, perches in William R. Mason Regional Park in Irvine. Other species at one of America’s most well-known birding sites include hawks, towhees, roadrunnners and warblers.
18712 University Drive
Irvine, 92612-2601
(949) 923-2220 or (949) 923-2223
www.ocparks.com/masonpark/
(Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
Wildlife photographers at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve near Huntington Beach have an unobstructed view of more than 300 bird species, including pintails, western grebes, godwits and sandpipers, egrets, white pelicans -- and the occasional peregrine falcon -- from the footbridge over Inner Bolsa Bay.
Bolsa Chica Conservancy
3842 Warner Ave.
Huntington Beach, 92649-4263
(714) 846-1114
bolsachica.org
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
One of
Salton Sea Authority
78-401 Highway 111
La Quinta, 92253
www.saltonsea.ca.gov
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
A great blue heron swoops low over Compton Creek, near the 710 Freeway in
lasgrwc2.org/programsandprojects/llarc.aspx?search=comptoncreek (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
Bird-watchers often cluster around the portion of the San Gabriel River that flows through Whittier Narrows Nature Area, hoping to catch a glimpse of the waterfowl and migratory birds that populate some 400 acres of wetlands.
1000 N. Durfee Ave.
South El Monte, 91733
(626) 575-5523
www.lacountyparks.org/Parkinfo.asp?URL=cms1_033384.asp&Title=Whittier+Narrows+Natural+Area+and+Center (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Bird-watching in Hollywood? A red-tailed hawk lands on a pine tree near Western Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard.
Western Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard
Los Angeles, 90029
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
Two Audubon Society members prepare for the traditional Christmas bird count at Irvine Regional Park. Bird species here include woodpeckers, cormorants, herons, egrets and peacocks.
1 Irvine Park Road
Orange, 92869
(714) 973-6835 or (714) 973-3173
www.ocparks.com/irvinepark
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
An ibis forages for food in the Los Angeles River near
www.lariver.org/ (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
A
E. 2nd St. and Shopkeeper, Long Beach, 90803
www.lcwlandtrust.org/ (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Enthusiasts in
177 S. Arroyo Blvd., Pasadena
ww2.cityofpasadena.net/publicworks/PNR/CityParks/LowerArroyo.asp
(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
A climber watches a
Westward Beach Rd, Malibu, 90265
(805) 488-1827 or (818) 880-0363
www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=623
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Some 460 acres of land that surround the Prado Dam in
16700 S. Euclid Ave., Chino, 91708
(909) 597-4260
www.co.san-bernardino.ca.us/Parks/prado.htm
(Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
Cormorants are common at Malibu Lagoon State Beach (a.k.a. Surfrider Beach), where more than 270 recorded bird species, including assorted waterfowl, quail, grebes and waders, can also be found.
23000 block of Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, 90265
(310) 456-8030
beaches.co.la.ca.us/BandH/Beaches/Malibu.htm
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
Visitors to Doheny State Park in
25300 Dana Point Harbor Drive, Dana Point, 92629
http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=645
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
Bird spotters at Madrona Marsh Preserve in Torrance take part in the Audubon Society’s annual bird census. Seasonal visitors to the marsh, which lies on the Pacific Flyway, include Say’s phoebes, common snipes and cliff swallows.
3201 Plaza del Amo, Torrance, 90503
(310) 782-3989
www.ci.torrance.ca.us/Parks/6618.htm
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
The sage brush at the Forrestal Nature Preserve on the Palos Verdes peninsula hosts many bird species, including the endangered gnatcatcher.
32201 Forrestal Drive, Rancho Palos Verdes, 90275
www.palosverdes.com/rpv/planning/forrestal/index.cfm
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
A red-tailed hawk greets visitors to San Joaquin Sanctuary in Irvine. Other raptors that have been recorded at the site include golden eagles, peregrine falcons, ospreys, kites, harriers and owls.
5 Riparian View, Irvine, 92612
(949) 261-7963
www.seaandsageaudubon.org/SJWS/sjws.htm
(Robert Lachman / Los Angeles Times)
