Urban Wing Count

Kimball L. Garrett has counted a cumulative total of 108 bird species in and around Exposition Park, which says something about the habitats of downtown Los Angeles. But he is quick to discourage drawing excessively generous conclusions about the impact of urbanization on wildlife.

His report is published in the fall edition of Terra, the magazine of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, where he is ornithology collections manager. The museum, of course, nestles in Exposition Park, which facilitates a current count. His list is even longer if one counts some of the exotics and escapees, such as Patagonian Conures and Zebra finches that have been observed. But 21 of the species have only been seen once, which gives credence to Garrett’s argument that “over time, if enough people are looking, you can find everything.”

The commitment of Southern California bird watchers has produced a total count of some 445 native species over the years. Paradoxically, a diverse urban landscape of exotic plants can, under ideal circumstances, support an abundance of birds greater than in some native habitats but never the equal of the teeming populations in the riparian forests so often lost to urbanization. He told us that he is concerned that the cumulative numbers will lead to complacency about the impact of the city when, in fact, “we are doing terrible things to the bird population in the county through the loss of native habitat.”

Nevertheless, it is significant that some 90 species nest in the area. But it must be remembered that close to half of the species on the cumulative list are migrants, seen only rarely. And there is no way to count the species that have been forever lost to the region.

“While it cannot be seriously argued that the artificial habitats of parks such as Los Angeles’ Exposition Park constitute nationally significant wildlife habitat, they nevertheless harbor an astonishing diversity of birds,” he concluded.