The Bolsa Chica Wetland is about 1200 acres of coastal wetland
on the coast of Orange County, California and near the city of
Huntington Beach. Most of the wetland is publicly owned and in 2004
about 600 acres were restored. Prior to 1900 the Bolsa Chica was a
fully functioning estuary. Then in 1940 it became an oil field and
its wetland character was almost totally destroyed, Privately
owned, it was planned to become a massive marina complex in the
1970s but an environmental organization called the Amigos de Bolsa
Chica lobbied the state to purchase the wetland and finally in 1997
the state did acquire it. Bolsa Chica is now designated as a state
ecological reserve and one of the best birding spots in Southern
California. Over 200 species of birds have been sighted in the
Bolsa Chica during various times of the year. The best time to see
birds in the Bolsa Chica is between November and March, but there
are many to be seen at any time. Having a newly restored direct
inlet from the ocean, the Bolsa Chica wetland is also a spawning,
foraging and nursery habitat for a number of fish, including
California halibut, stripped bass, white sea bass, stripped mullet,
smelt, round sting rays, kelp bass, surf perch and diamond
turbot.
