Bird’s-Eye View

Before any bird-watchers at Placerita Canyon State-County Park could raise their binoculars on a recent Saturday morning, they were greeted with a chorus of songs.

Most distinct was that of house wrens, a small, brownish perching bird that is easily hidden by foliage.

A group of nearly 20 people looked around as guide Bob Fischer, 73, an avid birder since he was a teenager in Springfield, Ill., admitted the wrens would be easier to hear than they would be to view. The crowd would later learn patience is rewarded.

“All you need is to see two or three jewels and you get hooked,” said Fischer, a volunteer with the L.A. County Parks and Recreation docent program who has been leading bird-watching walks for three years at the park off Highway 14 near Newhall. “You look up and see one [bird], and that’s it, you’re looking for another.”

Fischer said one of the recent jewels he discovered in the area was a Townsend’s warbler, a small black and white bird with vibrant yellow markings on hits head and breast.

“When I saw it for the first time, I was amazed,” said Fischer, a Newhall resident since 1991. “The coloring was so beautiful. I’ve seen it three times since at Placerita.”

Placerita Canyon is one of several places in the region to view birds. Other areas where bird-watching walks are conducted include the well-groomed Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve, the undeveloped Chatsworth Reservoir, beautiful Descanso Gardens in La Canada-Flintridge, the more rugged Topanga State and Malibu Creek State parks in the Santa Monica Mountains, and coastal sites from Malibu through Ventura County.

Most of the tours are led by nature center volunteers or by Audubon Society members. Some walks are conducted on a weekly basis, others on a monthly schedule. Some areas, like the Chatsworth Reservoir, are closed to the public, although groups can make an appointment to take a tour.

Beginners need only binoculars and a field guide of birds to get started. And all bird walks have one thing in common, according to Fischer, an Audubon Society member.

“A bird walk is really a stroll,” he said. “A lot of it is listening, looking hard and learning how to use binoculars.”

After a brief introduction to Placerita Canyon, which features oak woodlands with plenty of canopy, a creekbed and areas of chaparral, Fischer began the walk, saying most birds in the area are year-round residents and birds nesting for the spring or summer.

All birds, except starlings, are native to the area.

An acorn woodpecker flew past the group and snagged an insect. Swallows, finches, Western bluebirds and black phoebes joined the hunt and gave birders a chance to get a binocular-full when they came to rest in trees.

Soon, a red-tailed hawk swooped along the valley floor, plucked a rodent from the ground, glided toward a canyon wall and came to rest on a utility pole, its prey dangling from its talons.

A younger red-tailed hawk circled into view and began a series of calls.

“The younger hawk is hoping [the adult] will share some of its food,” said Fischer.

The find of the day then came into view in a tree about 50 feet from the group.

“That could be an ash-throated flycatcher,” said Fischer, who added it was the first spring sighting of the olive-brown perching bird that has a grayish-white throat and cinnamon-rust tail feathers.

“Give me some better directions, Bob,” asked a searching Paula Reynosa, a nature center volunteer who was taking photographs for an upcoming park floral guide. “I’ve never seen one.”

The end of the two-hour walk was highlighted by a Cooper’s hawk in its nest and a sighting of a handful of house wrens.

“I’ve never seen the Cooper’s stay in its nest,” said Fischer, who watched the hawk take flight, circle the grove of oaks and come back to the nest. “I’ve seen it flying around quite often, but this is special.”

Fischer became a volunteer when he lived in Sherman Oaks. After he retired as a personnel manager with L.A. County, he volunteered with the William O. Douglas Outdoor Classroom.

The Sooky Goldman Nature Center program at Franklin Canyon Park in Coldwater Canyon gives students a chance to see exhibits before taking a tour.

Fischer continues to work with students as a volunteer computer instructor in the Saugus school district. But he’s adept at going from high-tech to low-tech.

“Everybody needs to get outdoors, and [bird watching] is a good way to do it,” he said.

Audubon Society member Kris Ohlenkamp leads walks through Sepulveda Basin, where $3.6 million in upgrades have made it easy for anybody to take a stroll on manicured trails that include informational signs.

But guides like Fischer and Ohlenkamp, who has noticed an increase in bird watching, can point out where and how to look for birds.

“I began leading walks 20 years ago,” said Ohlenkamp, a 48-year-old North Hills resident who has a degree in biology from Cal State Northridge.

“When I first started, only three or four people would show up. The last three or four years, I usually have 30 or so, and I’ve led walks with as many as 60 before.”

Ohlenkamp joined the Audubon Society about 25 years ago to learn about environmental issues. He discovered birding while helping with the group’s annual Christmas bird count and now teaches others how to tune in to nature.

“It’s a skill, knowing where to go, what you’re looking for,” he said. “Your powers of observation increase five-fold, from listening for wing flutters to knowing the season and what birds will be visiting your area.”

Some of the most colorful birds can be found in the summer, including blue grosbeaks, yellow-breasted chats, Northern and hooded orioles and Western tanagers.

Many more varieties are found in winter, when they migrate.

“That’s why I can lead walks for 20 years without getting bored,” said Ohlenkamp. “What birds you see depends on the month, the season. . . . You see changes in the birds all the time.”

Armed with a little knowledge and some basic gear, viewing birds in the region is literally a walk in the park.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

Some programs do not guide walks in middle of summer.

Chatsworth Reservoir

* Walks scheduled by appointment with Audubon Society member Art Langton, usually 8 a.m. first Saturday of each month. Information: (818) 887-0973.

Descanso Gardens

* Audubon Society members Karen Johnson and Nancy Knode lead walks at 8 a.m. the second and fourth Sundays of each month. Free admission and entry before gardens open at 9 a.m.

Franklin Canyon Park

* National Park Service volunteers lead various walks, including one at 8 a.m. the fourth Saturday of each month. Information: Sooky Goldman Nature Center, (310) 858-7272, ext. 131.

Malibu Creek State Park

* Audubon Society members lead a walk for more advanced birders at 8 a.m. the first and third Sundays of each month. Parking is $3. Information (310) 455-1696 for first Sunday, (818) 783-4293 for third Sunday.

Malibu Lagoon State Park

* Audubon Society members from Santa Monica Bay chapter lead viewings at 8:30 a.m. the fourth Sunday of each month. Families invited. Telescopes provided. Parking free at Cross Creek Road or $5 in lagoon lot. Information: Lillian Almdale (310) 393-6205.

Placerita Canyon State-County Park

* Two-hour walks at 9 a.m. the second Saturday of each month with L.A. County Parks and Recreation docent Bob Fischer. Parking is $3. Information: (661) 250-4149.

Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve

* Audubon Society member Kris Ohlenkamp leads walks at 8 a.m. the first Sunday of each month. Information (818) 894-9332.

* Audubon Society member Muriel Kotin leads family and beginner walks at 8:30 a.m. the second Saturday of each month, October-March. Binoculars provided. Information: (818) 783-4293.

Topanga State Park

* Nature center volunteers lead two-hour walks at 1 p.m. every Sunday. Parking is $3. Information (818) 591-2825.

* Audubon Society member Gerry Haigh leads a walk at 8 a.m. the first Sunday of each month at Trippet Ranch. Information: (310) 455-1696.

Ventura County

* Conejo Valley chapter of Audubon Society schedules weekly walks, mostly in the county but sometimes in surrounding counties. Information (805) 289-0440.

* Ventura chapter of Audubon Society sponsors walks at various sites in the county. Information: (805) 642-1585 or 648-2495.

RESOURCES

* “A Birders Guide to Southern California” by Brad Schram can be ordered through the Los Angeles chapter of the Audubon Society, (323) 876-0202, Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. E-mail address: laas@ix.netcom.com. Web site: www.netcom.com/~laas.

* Central Coast Birding Trail guide, provided by the Ventura chapter of Audubon Society, available at most chambers of commerce and visitors’ centers.

* Audubon Society member Steve Sosensky has a web site that lists field trips at www.socal.ca.audubon.org/trips.htm

* For information on Audubon Society chapters in the Southland, go to www.audubon.org.