Today I visited the Los Cerritos Wetlands  to do a bird survey with El Dorado Audubon.  About every two weeks we walk through the area and count the different species we see. I have been doing it for about a year now and always see something new.  Sometimes it is a spectacular bird such as a White-tailed Kite  hovering and then swooping down to collect its prey.  Many times it is something small, such as the bright red feathers of our ubiquitous House Finch  backlit by the sun in a way that catches my eye.  Even if there is nothing significant, I love walking in an area of the city that seems remote and closer to nature.

The wetlands are home to a California state endangered bird, the Belding's Savannah Sparrow.  This subspecies of the  Savannah Sparrow is a year round resident in coastal salt marshes and it nests in pickleweed. Because these birds nest on the ground, they are subject to disturbance of their nests and predation.  More importantly, the degradation and loss of the salt marshes, through human development, has drastically reduced their numbers and limits their population growth. 

Pickleweed, Salicornia virginica, is an indicator species in that it indicates a particular characteristic of its environment. In this case, it indicates the presence of salt in the soil as from a tidal salt marsh.  Many plants cannot tolerate high levels of salt.  However, pickleweed is adapted to store excess salt in its joints.  The salt interferes with the green chlorophyll and the plant turns red and parts drop off.

Pickleweed won't grow elsewhere and the Belding's Savannah Sparrow is linked to this habitat. Long Beach has lost almost all of its wetlands.  I am heartened to know that many people care enough to protect our patch of remaining tidal wetlands and save a small part of biodiversity.