Bird lovers on the lookout for their feathered friends

Carrying a tripod-mounted scope, bird expert Dan Cooper walked along the trails of Augustus F. Hawkins Natural Park, a small oasis among the warehouses and homes of South Los Angeles. Close by, a small band of bird lovers with sun hats and binoculars followed.

The group, dubbed the Slauson Smack-Down team, was one of four that ventured across Los Angeles County on Saturday in hopes of identifying the most bird species in a single day.

The birdathon was sponsored by the Los Angeles Audubon Society to celebrate its 100th anniversary. A superstar bird spotter led each squad across the county’s mountains, foothills, parks and coastal areas.

Team members paid $50 each to take part, while other supporters promised to pay for each bird species identified. Proceeds will be used to support Audubon’s education and conservation programs.

Audubon’s Los Angeles chapter began as a small group of bird lovers who took walks in the hills and canyons in the northeast part of the city. In 1910, the group formed what is now called the Los Angeles Audubon Society.

Today the national Audubon Society promotes the enjoyment and protection of birds and other wildlife through recreation, education, conservation and restoration.

At Augustus F. Hawkins Natural Park, many of the participants used their eyes to identify native and migratory birds. Cooper sometimes used just his ears. As it flew overhead, he identified a spotted dove, a slim, long-tailed pigeon from Asia that was introduced to North America in the 1800s.

“It became a very common bird in the area,” Cooper said. “But we started seeing a sharp decline in the ‘90s.”

Now the bird is a rare sight, according to Cooper.

More than an hour later, the group had identified 35 types of birds, marking them off a list of 491 species. A short time later, the group drove seven miles east to Ladera Heights, where they found a Nuttall’s woodpecker, a small bird with black-and-white-striped feathers and a red crown. They also saw a Western bluebird and a Townsend’s warbler.

Next the group moved to Ballona Creek at the edge of Playa del Rey.

“What are you doing?” a passerby asked.

“We’re looking for birds,” Cooper said.

By the end of the day, they had identified 90 species of them.

ruben.vives@latimes.com