A Birder’s Memoir
I live in the Brentwood Hills of Los Angeles, California, just north of Santa Monica. My house overlooks Sullivan Canyon, which is on the eastern edge of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and is protected from development. As such, I occupy a transition area between the natural habitat in the canyon and the civilized world of Brentwood and beyond.
Because of this, I have the best of both environments. I get a constant influx of birds from the canyon into my yard, and I can also enjoy feeding, observing, and photographing the birds from the comfort of my own home.
Over the years, the birds have become accustomed to the steady supply of food and water in my yard, and in many ways, I think that they consider this yard just as much theirs as mine by now.
My regular visitors include the Scrub Jay, California Towhee, California Thrasher, Spotted Towhee, Mourning Dove, House Finch, Anna’s and Allen’s Hummingbirds, California Quail, Song Sparrow, Northern Mockingbird, Lesser Goldfinch, and Nanday Parakeet. Seasonal visitors include the Hooded Oriole and Phainopepla in late spring and summer, and the Fox Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Hermit Thrush, and Oregon Junco in winter.
Down in the canyon, I often see the House Wren, Acorn and Nuttall’s Woodpeckers, Wrentit, and, in winter, the Yellow-rumped Warbler. Red-tailed Hawks, Red-shouldered Hawks, and American Crows often fly over my yard and out over the canyon. Occasionally, a Cooper’s Hawk streaks through the yard, creating quite a scare for both the birds and myself.
Beyond my yard, I have taken many local field trips, observing and photographing the Western Bluebird and Great Blue Heron at Malibu Creek State Park, and doing the same with the Snowy and Great Egrets at Malibu Lagoon State Beach. In many ways, these locations are extensions of my backyard, in that they have a similar terrain and exist within the same regional ecosystem.
A bit farther afield, I have photographed the Violet-crowned Hummingbird and the Mexican Jay in southeastern Arizona, the Common Raven in Bryce Canyon National Park, and the Steller’s Jay at Yosemite National Park. Each of these experiences have expanded my understanding of birds in general, and has also contributed to my knowledge of the vast geological landscapes that encompass the western United States.
As I continue on my journey of learning more and more about all kinds of birds in many different locations throughout our country and beyond, one thought comes to mind: in many ways, the whole world is a backyard, and as such, we should treat each natural habitat with the same care and concern that we have for our own yards. In this way, we will not only help the birds and other creatures in the wild, we will enrich ourselves as well.
