Bird watching sites in Southern California

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 Southern California‘s premier birding sites, the Salton Sea in Imperial and Riverside counties boasts a wealth of bird life, including these avocets.

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 Long Beach.

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 Long Beach. The river and the 225-acre Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve that drains into it also are occasional resting spots for migratory birds.

www.lariver.org/  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

A California brown pelican takes flight over Los Cerritos wetlands. A stopoff on the Pacific Flyway in Long Beach and Seal Beach, the wetlands also boast great blue herons, snowy egrets, American avocets and western sandpipers.

E. 2nd St. and Shopkeeper, Long Beach, 90803
www.lcwlandtrust.org/  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Enthusiasts in Pasadena‘s Lower Arroyo Park can watch more than 180 species of birds, including kildeers, California quails, mockingbirds and yellow warblers.

177 S. Arroyo Blvd., Pasadena
ww2.cityofpasadena.net/publicworks/PNR/CityParks/LowerArroyo.asp
  (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

A climber watches a California brown pelican at Malibu’s Point Dume.

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 Yorba Linda have been turned into wetlands that support a variety of bird life, including this egret.

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 Dana Point can view herring gulls, Thayer’s gulls and rock wrens.

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)