new issue of Bolsa Chica newsletter

Many birders around the country enjoy birding at the Bolsa Chica wetlands in Huntington Beach, Calif. If you're one of them, you might like to see the latest issue of The Tern Tide, published by Amigos de Bolsa Chica.

Among the latest items in the Tide: details about the Junior Naturalists Program, a new Bolsa Chica Wetlands lapel pin, a look at Belding's Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis beldingi), and news of the recent dedication ceremony of the footbridge. Who cut the ribbon during the ceremony? A young girl who asked that, instead of birthday gifts, her family donate to the fundraising efforts for the bridge. What a cutie.

Bolsa Chica footbridge being installed

Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach, Calif., stands out as prime wetlands for birding. Birders from around the country stop by the wetlands along PCH while in Southern California. I've had the pleasure of seeing Long-billed Curlews and other fine species there with Mike Bergin of 10,000 Birds while a business trip brought him to my stomping grounds.

Earlier this week, Amigos de Bolsa Chica announced:

The long-awaited Bolsa Chica footbridge to connect the North Parking Lot with the Bolsa Chica Mesa finally arrived about 9 p.m. on January 12 after a long, slow journey from its manufacturing origin in Arizona. The 145-foot-long structure was fabricated of high-strength tubular steel and weighed about 70,000 lbs. It will be considerably heavier when its concrete floor and other structures are added in the coming weeks. Only then, following a ribbon cutting ceremony, will it be open to the public.

About 60 onlookers stood in a light drizzle on the morning of the 13th to witness the installation of the bridge onto its concrete footings. Once in use, the bridge will eliminate the need for visitors to Bolsa Chica to use the bicycle lane on Warner Avenue, inches from heavy, fast-moving traffic, to get to the mesa.

Want a Bolsa Chica bird calendar?

The wetlands in Huntington Beach, Calif. -- officially called Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve and located next to Pacific Coast Highway and Bolsa Chica State Beach -- draw birds and birders from around the country. I know birders from New York who gladly will spend hours at Bolsa Chica, which hosts nesting, endangered Least Terns among many other species.


Have you visited Bolsa Chica? Would you like to win one of two 2009 calendars titled "Wings Over Bolsa"? (Granted, it's now May, but photos remain timeless, no?)

Valued at $10, the calendars were produced by Bolsa Chica Land Trust, and one calendar can be yours for describing, in 300 words, your best bird sighting at Bolsa Chica.

Send your entry to wildbird AT bowtieinc.com, or post it here in the comments for everyone to enjoy! The deadline is Sunday, May 3, and the winner will be announced on Monday the 4th.

California Least Tern courtesy of Ryan Hagerty/U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service