Birds of Malibu Lagoon

    The last substantial checklist of the birds of Malibu Lagoon, one of the premier birding areas in southern California (and the U.S.), was compiled almost 30 years ago by Lloyd Kiff and Kay Nakamura (1979).  Recently, Dan Cooper through a grant from the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains summarized and updated the Malibu Checklist. 
     There are now 276 species of birds.  Dan removed several birds that were "hypothetical" but never confirmed such as the Light-footed Clapper Rail, Belding's Savannah Sparrow and nesting Willow Flycaatcher.  If you find any of these, report it and you will go down in the annals of birding.  An easier "find" would be to report any sightings of California Quails south of PCH, as there is only one confirmed sighting.
www.cooperecological.com/birds_of_malibu_lagoon

    The only downside is  that the work is an annotated list that prints out as 7-8 pages (I forget), not conducive to carrying out in the field.  Maybe someone will work it up as a pocket checklist (hint).

    You can go to Dan Cooper's main page and find a checklist of birds for the Ballona area as well.  www.cooperecological.com _