Hummingbirds, too, are abundant. Because of the warm weather, it s an early bird-watching opportunity. In the midst of one of the most paved-over places on Earth, birds are not only surviving, they re thriving, Hutto says. It s a refuge in a sea of concrete. It makes you think about what it is that we re trying to achieve here on Earth.
Songbirds migrate through in the spring, but the park offers something to see year-round.
It s even drawn a birding underground of hard-core birders who keep track of sightings in a bird register at the park s boathouse. Look for the red-tailed hawks, which have taken up residence atop a Fifth Avenue skyscraper. Even if you ve never been anywhere near the Santa Monica Mountains, you already are familiar with the sounds of its birds. It s the background noise heard in all those classic western and World War II films, which Hollywood made in the region, Hutto says. You hear all these birds in those movies.