Field Checklist

Annotated Checklist

2006 Addendum to checklist

2007 Addendum to checklist

2008 Addendum to checklist

Sensitive species of the Ballona Wetlands

Birding the Ballona Wetands

Ballona Wetands Docent Training Manual (pdf)

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Ballona Wetlands Birds

Photos of Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve courtesy of Lisa Fimiani

The Ballona Wetlands, near the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), contain the last significant coastal wetland system left in Los Angeles County, and are now about 25% of their original size. They are also bifurcated by a large cement flood control channel which has cut off tidal flow to large areas. Since the late 1800s, egg collectors and later, biologists and birders, have visited the wetlands and have provided subsequent generations with a wealth of information about historical conditions. Since 2003, Cooper Ecological Monitoring, Inc. has been working to analyze this information and make it available to the public.

This is very much a collaborative, ongoing project, the first publications of which may be downloaded below:

Cooper, D.S. 2006. Annotated checklist of extirpated, reestablished, and newly-colonized avian taxa of the Ballona Valley, Los Angeles County, California. Bulletin of Southern California Academy of Sciences 105:91-112.

Cooper, D.S. 2008. The use of historical data in the restoration of the avifauna of the Ballona Wetlands, Los Angeles County, California. Natural Areas Journal 28:83-90.