Volunteers Hold Bird Count in Ventura Estuary

Walking outside a restricted portion of McGrath State Beach stained by a Christmas Day oil spill, local members of the Audubon Society on Sunday counted and catalogued birds in the Ventura estuary as part of an annual survey to determine where America’s birds live and whether various species are thriving or becoming extinct.

The estuary, where the Santa Clara River meets the Pacific Ocean, is a biologically rich area often teeming with birds.

“This is one of the better, if not the best places to spot shorebirds on the coast,” said Bob Hefter, an electrician and the Audubon volunteer coordinating the survey.

Hefter and one other volunteer were part of a countywide effort in recent weeks to complete Audubon’s annual “Christmas Count.” Each year in more than 1,600 cities and counties throughout the country, more than 40,000 Audubon members conduct the survey.

The daylong tradition started in Ventura County in the early 1970s. A few years ago, local birders identified 179 species and counted nearly 28,000 birds, all in a single day.

The work requires experienced and dedicated volunteers. The two men working at the estuary were up before dawn, along with about 60 volunteers working in other parts of western Ventura County. The Conejo Valley chapter of the Audubon Society did an east county count before Christmas.

As the two volunteers moved closer to the oil spill site, they came within earshot of crews using the pop of a small cannon to scare away birds from the oil-soaked area.

“It doesn’t seem like anyone knows how bad the spill really is,” Bart Lane, a recently retired mathematician at Point Mugu weapons station, said as he looked for more birds. “It’s pretty disappointing with a disaster like this to find out that warnings were ignored and that it spilled for three days without anyone knowing about it.”

As Lane and Hefter moved along the north side of the estuary, the morning sun still hadn’t crested the top branches of the willow trees surrounding them. It was still early, and the two had already catalogued 67 species of birds. But still they were disappointed. “It’s tough with just two people doing the spotting; you miss things,” Hefter said.

Last year, he said they identified more than 100 species, including 15 different species of ducks in ponds created by the Ventura County Sanitation Department.

As they walked near the ponds Sunday, a few coots flapped across the water. Mounting a telescope on a tripod, Hefter carefully scanned the reeds on the other bank and picked out a cinnamon teal duck swimming slowing away into the dissipating morning mist.

As the duck turned, the sun caught the brilliant emerald-green feathers that are combed back behind its eye.

“I got into this because of the color,” Lane said. “If I could do this all the time, I would.”