Location:  Lagoon is 12 miles north of Santa Monica on Highway 1.  Park is 6 miles inland from Malibu on Malibu Canyon Road.

Visiting tips:  Birds of prey, wading birds, songbirds, predators and deer can be seen all year.  Songbirds are viewed best during April, May, September and October.  There are great opportunities to see waterfowl, gulls, and shorebirds during the fall and winter.  Terns can be seen in the summer and fall.  Hike or ride horses on the trails; some of which connect to nearby Topanga State Park.  Besides the visitor center at this park, make sure to stop at nearby Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Visitor Center located at 30401 Agoura Road in Agoura Hills (Highway 101/Reyes Adobe exit).

Contact: Malibu Creek State Park and Lagoon (818) 880-0367

Topanga State Park

Location:  From Santa Monica, take Highway 1 north to Topanga Canyon Boulevard (Highway 27).  Turn north and drive 4 miles, then take the Entrada exit and drive east to the entrance.

What to See:  This pristine park on the edge of the Santa Monica Mountains is the largest wildland within a city boundary in the United States.  Adjacent private and public wildlands provide landscape corridors and increase the size of the urban wilderness to 16,000 acres.  There are more than thirty miles of trails offering views of oak studded meadows, chaparral, and forested canyons.  The open country is home to Desert cottontails, California quail, scrub jays, coyotes, badgers, and bobcats.  Southern mule deer browse among scrub and coast live oaks that shelter acorn woodpeckers and western screech owls.  Follow the trail through the rugged Santa Ynez Canyon to see a twenty-foot waterfall, stream orchids and tiger lilies.  California bays, sycamores, and willows provide habitat for raccoons, canyon wrens, Swainson's thrushes, and warbling vireos. 

Visiting tips:  Songbirds, upland birds, predators, and deer can be seen year-round.  The best time to see the songbirds is during spring and fall.  Visit during the spring to see the wildflower display.  Nature and equestrian trails as well as a visitor center are available.

Contact: Topanga State Park 310-454-8212 or 818-880-0350

Local Accommodations and Travel Information:  Santa Monica Convention and Visitors Bureau

Location:  3 miles northwest of Huntington Beach

What to See:  This "little pocket", or "bolsa chica" of restored urban salt marsh is a haven for waterbirds such as American wigeons, blue-winged teal, lesser scamps, brown pelicans, and great blue herons.  Mudflats provide food for red-necked phalaropes, dowitchers, and other shorebirds.  Pickleweed shelters marsh wrens and endangered Belding's savannah sparrows.  Use binoculars from the boardwalk to watch two nesting islands for black skimmers and five tern species.  Look below the boardwalk for giant sea hares.  Ospreys and peregrine falcons make perches in utility poles.  Look for wintering monarch butterflies at the bluff overlooking a eucalyptus grove. 

Visiting tips:  More than 200 bird species.  Look for shorebirds in fall and waterfowl in winter.  Marine birds are visible from April to August, and songbirds in the spring and summer.  Belding's savannah sparrows can be found when they are singing in March and April.  Look for peregrine falcons in fall and short-eared owls from October through January.  There are many closed areas.  Terns nest in sand; do not disturb their nesting sites.

Contact: Amigos de Bolsa Chica (714) 840-1575 
Offers free guided tours first Saturday of the month and paid tours per request. Also hosts annual "Running is for the Birds" and photo contest.

Bolsa Chica Conservancy (714) 846-1114 
Operates the Interpretive Center on Warner Avenue near Pacific Coast Highway across from the Fire Station.

Bolsa Chica Land Trust (714) 536-4836  

Local Accommodations and Travel Information:  Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau

Location:  Between Sunset Beach and Huntington Beach along Highway 1

What to See:  This shallow estuary has many trails that wind past mudflats concealing littleneck clams, polychaete worms, and marine life eaten by plovers, sandpipers, and other shorebirds.  Shallow bay waters shelter anchovies, California killifish, and halibut, which in turn attract buffleheads, mergansers, black skimmers, ospreys, egrets, brown pelicans, and occasional raccoons.  Bay nesting islands shelter American avocets, black-necked stilts, and California least terns.  Endangered light-footed clapper rails and threatened black rails hide in the cordgrass.  Look for Anna's hummingbirds, yellow-breasted chats, California gnatcatchers, endangered Belding's savannah sparrows, plus many hawks and owls.

Visiting tips:  There are nearly 200 bird species and many mammals.  Up to 30,000 birds are present from August to April.  Expect to find many wading birds, shorebirds, and waterfowl from October through March.  Look for terns from mid-April to mid-July, with songbirds in spring and summer.  Birds of prey and clapper rails are seen year-round; listen for rails' clapping calls.

Contact: Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve and Regional Park (949) 973-6820

Local Accommodations and Travel Information: Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau

Location:  From Newport Beach, take Highway 1 south 1 mile to Pelican Point parking lot...or continue 0.25 mile to the next parking area.

What to See:  Grasslands and endangered coastal scrub are located on this marine terrace that overlooks three miles of  bluff-backed beaches and rocky points.  The terrace can be explored by trails that travel through Moro Canyon's riparian woodland.  The woodland is home to bobcats, coyotes, badgers and southern mule deer as well as many songbirds.  Sheltered beaches provide habitat for gulls, terns, and shorebirds, while birds of prey hunt the uplands.  Look for fishing ospreys and pelicans.  Harbor seals, California sea lions, Pacific white-sided dolphins and endangered gray whales are visible offshore.

Visiting tips:  More than 150 bird species are located here,  with excellent viewing of shore birds and marine birds during the fall and winter.  Songbirds are visible during the spring and summer.  For birds of prey and marine mammals, viewing is excellent year-round.  December through February offers the best viewing of whales.  Hiking, bicycling and equestrian trails as well as hike-in dry camping are available at the park. 

Contact: Crystal Cove State Park 949-494-3539 or 949-492-0802

Local Accommodations and Travel Information: Newport Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau

Location:  From San Clemente and Interstate 5, take Highway 78 west 0.75 mile.  Turn left on Hill Street.  Buena Vista Audubon Society Nature Center is 0.5 mile on the left.

What to See: Southern California's only freshwater lagoon provides a premier site for birds navigating the Pacific Flyway.  Pickleweed, salt grass, and other brackish marsh vegetation at the west end of the lagoon give way to freshwater plants to the east.  Breeding habitat for the light-footed clapper rail, California least tern, and the Belding's savannah sparrow are provided by the quiet lagoon.  Besides these endangered species, there are many other birds to be seen including plovers, blue herons, snowy egrets and brown pelicans.  Although year-round viewing is possible, the best times are during spring and fall. 

Visiting tips: Binoculars are needed to view clapper rails and savannah sparrows.  There is a universally-accessible picnic area with marsh viewing, and a visitor center.

Contact: The Buena Vista Lagoon & Audubon Nature Center (760) 439 BIRD (2473)

Local Accommodations and Travel Information:  San Clemente Chamber of Commerce

Location:  North of San Diego; exit Interstate 5 on Carmel Valley Road and go west.

What to See:  Rugged sandstone cliffs are topped by the rare Torrey Pine and dotted by trails that overlook one of the few remaining salt marshes in Southern California.  The trails offer views of brush rabbits, bobcats, scrub jays, and California quail.  Hillside chaparral shelters California thrashers and loggerhead shrikes; great horned owls and American kestrels hunt near the bluffs.  Southern mule deer feed at the marsh, where pickleweed hides endangered Belding's savannah sparrows and light-footed clapper rails.  Offshore, near the reserve entrance, watch for bottle-nosed dolphins, occasional California sea lions, and endangered gray whales. 

Visiting tips:  Viewing is good for all birds, deer, and dolphins year-round.  There is excellent viewing of shorebirds and waterfowl in the winter; songbirds are best viewed in the summer.  This is a good place to see dolphins.  A visitor center is on the site. 

Contact: Torrey Pines State Reserve (619) 755-2063
Torrey Pines Reserve & Torrey Pines Docent Society

Local Accommodations and Travel Information: San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau

Location: San Diego.  Exit Interstate 5 at Clairemont Drive, and head west toward
the bay.

What to See:  The largest aquatic park on the west coast has recreation areas, beaches, and restored or developed natural areas.  Its two wildlife preserves are a labyrinth of tidal channels, salt marshes, and mudflats.  The Northern Wildlife Preserve may be one of southern California's best salt marshes.  Look for endangered light-footed clapper rails, great blue herons, American wigeons, ruddy ducks, canvasbacks, and brants.  Mudflats are heavily used by sandpipers, plovers, dowitchers, willets, and other shorebirds.  The adjacent salt pan habitat is used by Forster's terns and endangered Belding's savannah sparrows. 

Visiting tips:  This area affords a good opportunity to see many sensitive species. There's excellent year-round viewing, with up to 10,000 waterfowl during the winter.  Please observe regulations regarding closed areas.

Contact:  City of San Diego Parks and Recreation (619) 235-1169

Local Accommodations and Travel Information: San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau

Location:  From Interstate 5 in San Diego, take Highway 209 exit south about 6 miles to entrance.

What to see:  A windswept rocky shoreline covered by endangered coastal sage that gives some of Southern California's best views of endangered gray whales.  Marine life such as starfish, sand castle worms and sea hares reside in the rock-bound tidepools.  Birds such as wandering tattlers, marbled godwits, and ruddy turnstones follow the tides, each using a specialized bill to probe beneath the sand.  Prairie falcons, great horned owls and other birds of prey patrol the bluffs around the Bayside Trail.  Many other bird species abound, including endangered California brown pelicans, cormorants, and terns.  There's a visitor center on the site.  Watch for gray foxes in the mornings and evenings.

Visiting tips:  More than 375 bird species are located here.  The best time to view shorebirds and wading birds is in the fall and winter.  Birds of prey and songbirds are visible fall through spring.  Low tides give great viewing of tide pools October through April.  DO NOT DISTURB OR COLLECT FROM TIDEPOOLS.  Excellent viewing of gray whales takes place December through February.

Contact: Cabrillo National Monument (619) 557-5450 

Local Accommodations and Travel Information: San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau

Location:  From Chula Vista and Interstate 5, take the E Street exit.

What to See:  Here, the mouth of the Sweetwater River meets the largest remaining salt marsh in San Diego Bay.  The wetlands and mudflats teem with shorebirds, waterfowl, and wading birds.  The Chula Vista Nature Center offers observation decks and information about the interpretive trails.  Mudflats contain invertebrates sought by hundreds of migratory shorebirds, including willets, long-billed curlews, western sandpipers, and plovers.  Western meadowlarks, black and Say's phoebes as well as many spring and fall migrants access the upland shrubs and marsh vegetation.  Crucial habitat is provided by the refuge for California brown pelicans, California least terns, light-footed clapper rails, Belding's savannah sparrows, snowy plovers, and peregrine falcons, all of which are endangered species.  In addition, unusual species such as little blue herons, reddish egrets, and black skimmers are frequently visible.

Visiting tips:  Viewing is great year-round, with more than 215 species to be seen.  Bird-watching is excellent in the fall and winter.  Guided walks and a museum are available. 

Contact:  Chula Vista Nature Center (619) 557-5450
Sweetwater Marsh National Wildlife Refuge (619) 409-5900

Local Accommodations and Travel Information: San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau

Location:  South of San Diego; exit Interstate 5 at Coronado Avenue West.  Drive to Third Avenue and turn left, then continue to Caspian Way and turn left to the visitor center.

What to See:  This is southern California's largest estuarine wetland, encompassing a federal refuge and a state park.  Nearly 400 bird species, including six endangered species, reside in the Tijuana River Valley's tidal sloughs, beaches, uplands and riparian corridors.  Tidal flats sustain many shorebirds including willets, dowitchers, marbled godwits, and sandpipers.  The uplands offer reliable views of desert cottontails, California ground squirrels, coyotes, songbirds, and birds of prey. 

Visiting tips:  American peregrine falcons winter at the refuge, and California brown pelicans visit during the summer.  There is a visitor center at the site.  Year-round viewing of wading birds, birds of prey, shorebirds and small mammals is quite good.  Visiting in the spring and fall will permit excellent viewing of songbirds.  Summer and fall give excellent views of pelicans; waterfowl are best seen in the winter.

Contact:  Tijuana Estuary Visitor Center and Border Field State Park (619) 575-3613
Tijuana Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve

Local Accommodations and Travel Information: San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau

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