Bolsa Chica is a nice place to see shore birds. There’s a good variety of shore birds. If you go there in May like I did, you will see lots of Terns lying on eggs.
Least Tern is lying on eggs.
There is some very sad news. Someone used a drone at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve (which is illegal) and it crashed into the Elegant Tern nesting area. 1,500 – 2,000 Elegant Tern eggs were lost when the nests were abandoned. (Source: Los Angeles Times)
The event happened about two weeks before I visited.
There is the sign “RADIO-CONTROLLED AIRCRAFT PROHIBITED” on the information board. I hope it doesn’t happen again and the Terns will be back next year!
Do not enter the wildlife habitat area.
If you bring your binoculars, you enjoy watching more birds. You don’t need drones.
Here are some birds I saw:
Black-necked Stilt
Foster’s Tern
Ridgway’s Rail
Semipalmated Plover
Great Blue Heron
There’s some trails. You can see the oil pumps. There’s no shade on the trail. Prepare water bottle, a hat and sunscreen.
Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve Information
・46 min driving from Los Angeles International Airport
・1 hr 50 min driving from San Diego International Airport
・6 am – 8 pm
・There’s a restroom at the parking lot.
