Project begins to rebuild wild bird habitat in Balboa Park

A $4.5 million project to rebuild a wild bird habitat is underway at Balboa Park's Bull Creek, according to the Encino Neighborhood Council's Web site.

The project includes reviving 28 acres within the Sepulveda Dam Flood Control basin to encourage 200 species of wild birds, including the American goldfinch, the ash-throated flycatcher and the Bullock's oeriole, to nest and thrive within the area.

Plans include building a C-shaped side channel to allow reclaimed water from Lake Balboa to flow around an island, as well as pedestrian bridges over key parts of the channel.

A private contractor hired by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is overseeing the project, has installed a fence around the site, deterring park-goers from using a portion of the pedestrian walkways.

The fence is expected to stay up for two to six months.

The Bull Creek Channel in the Sepulveda Basin is a federally-owned flood control region. The government leases about three quarters of the 2,097-acre site to the city of Los Angeles for a wildlife preserve, parks, tennis courts and golf courses.

For more information, visit www.encinocouncil.org.