296 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



THE FAMOUS WILLOW VlLl.K SLOUGH ON THE DOMLXOUEZ KAXCllU. 



Migratory Birds on the Dominquez 

 Rancho. 



BY AEFRE;d C00K.\LVX_, HX-PRESIDKNT OF 

 TFIF LUTHER BURBANK CHAPTER OF THE 

 AGASSIZ ASS0CL\TI0N IN THE UNIVER- 

 SITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, LOS AN- 

 GELES, CALIFORNIA. 



In early October, several members 

 of the Luther Burbank Chapter of The 

 Agassiz Association established in the 

 University of Southern California 

 journeyed to the Dominquez Rancho, 

 twenty miles south of Los Angeles and 

 four miles north of the city of Long 

 Beach in Los Angeles County, South- 

 ern California, to study the migratory 

 birds that are now visiting this area, 

 and to collect a few specimens for 

 scientific study. 



The Dominquez Rancho all told cov- 

 ers twenty-four thousand acres of land. 

 It extends from the inner harbor; of 

 San Pedro, situated in the southwest- 

 ern section of the Rancho proper, to 

 the city of Gardena six miles northwest 

 to the foothills of Long Beach located 

 in the southeastern part of the Rancho 

 proper and about eight miles southeast 

 of Gardena. It forms the northwest 

 boundary of the city of Long Beach. 



"Signal Hill" is a peak towering above 

 the surrounding foothills. From its 

 summit one can view the Alamitos 

 Bay territory and the canals of Naples. 

 The Los Angeles River meanders 

 among the willows and the cotton- 

 woods in the southwest section, diag- 

 onally northeast, then southwest to 

 the sea. 



The Dominquez Rancho is consider- 

 ed by many of our western ornitholo- 

 gists as one of the greatest bird retreats 

 in the southern division of California. 

 One of the greatest fields for ornitho- 

 logical research on the American con- 

 tinent is located on this area. "Nig- 

 ger Sloughs," a great marsh locality, 

 is situated four miles north of San Pe- 

 dro and seventeen miles south of Los 

 Angeles. It comprises five large lakes 

 and covers eighteen hundred acres of 

 land. Thousands of marsh birds visit 

 this area during their migration, and 

 several species are permanent resi- 

 dents. There are several small marsh- 

 es adjoining the main lakes that are 

 rich with vegetation — tules, cotton- 

 woods and willows. Going among the 

 tules and beneath the overhanging 

 vines, one may imagine himself in the 



