Bird & Wildlife Sightings

About Our Community Science Resources

Our Bird & Wildlife Sightings page connects Stephen Sorensen Park and the Tameobit Wildlife Sanctuary to two global community science platforms: eBird and iNaturalist. Whether you are curious about local wildlife or want to help document the species living in Lake Los Angeles, these tools make it easy to explore and contribute to real conservation data.

eBird (For Birders & Bird Enthusiasts)

Managed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, eBird is the world’s largest biodiversity-related community science project. Our local page links directly to the official Stephen Sorensen Park & Tameobit eBird Hotspot (ID: L1563110).

• What you can gather: View real-time reports of birds recently spotted in the park, browse complete species checklists, listen to local bird audio recordings, and check seasonal bar charts to see which birds visit during different times of the year.

• How you can add: When you visit the park, keep a list of the birds you see or hear and click "+ Submit Your Sightings" to log your checklist. Your observations help scientists and local conservationists track bird populations and migration patterns in the Eastern Antelope Valley.

iNaturalist (For All Wildlife, Plants & Insects)

A joint initiative by the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society, iNaturalist is a crowdsourced species identification system and organism occurrence recording tool.

• What you can gather: Explore a visual catalog of all living things documented around Lake Los Angeles—including birds, native desert plants, reptiles, mammals, and insects. You can filter the feed to view specific groups, such as Local Birds Only.

• How you can add: Snap a photo of any plant, bug, reptile, or bird you spot in the park and click "+ Upload Observation." Even if you don’t know what the species is, iNaturalist’s built-in image recognition and community of naturalists will help identify it for you, turning your photo into a research-grade data point.

Why Your Contributions Matter

Every checklist submitted and photo uploaded helps build a permanent, public record of the biodiversity in Lake Los Angeles. By participating, you help the Lake Los Angeles Parks & Conservation Association understand, protect, and advocate for the natural habitats in our community.