Counting Birds At Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve

Los Angeles isn't just a big city. Here and there, treasured jewels of wildlife habitat have been preserved or in the case of Sepulveda Basin, rehabilitated. Nestled up to the Los Angeles River in Van Nuys, the basin is an important rest stop for migrating birds. It is also a vital slice of native habitat for wild birds that live in the San Fernando Valley year round.

My husband Michael and our friend Douglas Welch joined me counting birds on Sunday at the Basin. We saw 40 species of birds. It was a wonderful morning of discovery and tranquil shared experience in the midst of a bustling city. An enjoyable morning that also provided important data for scientists because the information we gathered will be part of the record for the Great Backyard Bird Count 2010.

You can share in watching an osprey (a fish-hunting hawk), listening to Canada geese and the splendor of a variety of hummingbirds by watching some of the video from our morning count for Great Backyard Bird Count.

Michael Lawshe's photos of egrets, white pelicans, osprey, hummingbirds and Sepulveda Basin

Checklist:
Canada Goose - 14
American Wigeon - 1
Mallard - 8
Hooded Merganser - 1
Pied-billed Grebe - 20; including 3 chicks just out of the nest
American White Pelican - 3
Double-crested Cormorant - 52
Great Blue Heron - 2
Great Egret - 4
Green Heron - 1
Black-crowned Night-Heron - 12
Turkey Vulture - 17
Osprey - 1
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Coot - 15
Ring-billed Gull - 1
Mourning Dove - 5
Yellow-chevroned Parakeet - 2
Anna's Hummingbird - 4
Rufous Hummingbird - 1
Allen's Hummingbird - 2
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Black Phoebe - 1
Cassin's Kingbird - 2
American Crow - 2
Bushtit - 15
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1
American Robin - 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 5
Common Yellowthroat - 1
Spotted Towhee - 1
California Towhee - 2
Lark Sparrow - 20
Song Sparrow - 6
White-crowned Sparrow - 13
Red-winged Blackbird - 1
House Finch - 26
Lesser Goldfinch - 10
American Goldfinch - 6