It is a common misconception that large cities have no birds to enjoy, when in fact many urban areas are ideally suited for diverse birds and stunning birding opportunities. Birders who understand where to go birding in cities can quickly build their life lists and enjoy more urban birds than they ever believed possible.

Why Cities Are Great for Birds and Birding

Birds will thrive anywhere if their basic needs for food, water, shelter and nesting sites are met, and even the densest urban area can meet those needs admirably.

Because of urban sprawl and development, city parks and green spaces become even more critical to birds, and suitable parks can concentrate species into more compact areas than if there was additional habitat available nearby. Many different urban green spaces are often quiet and undisturbed, making them ideal for birds.

Birders can also appreciate urban birding because of the easy accessibility for reaching different hotspots and how convenient city birding destinations can be. Because cities are popular for business travel, family vacations and other getaways, it can be easier to arrange a visit to a city – and carve out a few hours of the schedule for urban birding – without neglecting other commitments. Urban birding hotspots are often smaller patches that can be more easily explored than sprawling, isolated refuges, and cities are also often home to numerous birding groups, providing a flock of like-minded companionship for birders to enjoy.

Top Birding Hotspots in Urban Areas

Every city has its own merits and ideal birding locations, and certain properties popular in cities or very close to urban areas are reliable for productive birding, including…

• Parks: Large urban parks are the easiest birding hotspots to visit. Parks that feature nature trails, natural areas or ponds will offer the best birding, particularly away from popular playgrounds or athletic fields. Depending on the park, a wide range of songbirds, grackles, blackbirds, doves, hummingbirds and other species might be seen.
   
• Cemeteries: The solemn, undisturbed grounds of city cemeteries often include large tracts of open grass as well as mature trees, shrubs and flowers, while memorial fountains may also provide water for birds. Raptors, particularly owls, often take up residence in cemeteries, and many songbirds will make use of the trees and other landscaping.
   
• Universities: Large campuses often have park-like landscaping with mature trees and flowerbeds that attract urban birds. Many schools pride themselves on mature trees, ponds and natural areas, providing even more ideal habitats that birders can visit for an urban birding education that features songbirds of all types, as well as waterfowl.
   
• Botanical Gardens: Botanical gardens are often designed to showcase native plants and great varieties of landscaping, features that will attract many birds. Furthermore, these gardens often use environmentally friendly practices that minimize chemicals, and songbirds, hummingbirds and doves will thrive along with the plants.
   
• Waterfronts or Rivers: Many large cities are poised along harbors or large rivers, and bays and banks are often lined with parks, walkways or trails ideal for birding. This gives birders the chance to see even more unusual urban species, including ospreys, gulls, terns, kingfishers and both wading birds and shorebirds.
   
• Golf Courses: Birders can feel like champions while birding at urban golf courses, where large open areas are ideal for swallows and martins, with wading birds and waterfowl congregating at water hazards. The rough patches of golf courses can also attract a wide range of passerines, and many golf courses even set up nesting boxes to encourage birds.
   
• Landfills: While landfills may not be the most aesthetically pleasing places for birding, many birds are attracted to refuse not only to glean for scraps, but to prey on rats, mice and other creatures that take advantage of trash. Gulls, ravens, crows, vultures and raptors are all readily seen at open landfills.
   
• Water Treatment Plants: Sewage treatment and water purification plants can be an oasis for urban birding. The facilities are often filled with insects that attract a wide range of flycatchers, kingfishers and warblers, while rails, waders and shorebirds may also be present if the facility includes open marsh drainage areas.
   
• Skyscrapers: Even without extensive trees nearby, towering skyscrapers can be ideal habitats for some urbanized bird species. While rock pigeons are popular residents, savvy birders will also watch for raptors that prey on those pigeons, including red-tailed hawks, peregrine falcons and other birds of prey.
   
• Zoos and Aviaries: While captive birds may not count on a life list, urban areas provide great opportunities to visit zoos, aviaries and similar facilities to see birds in an intimate and personal setting, including exotic species and endangered birds. But birders should also scan a zoo's environmentally friendly landscaping for other urban birds as well.

While urban birding is certainly different than visiting less developed areas and larger tracts of undisturbed habitats, there is no denying that cities provide a wide range of exploration options for the most cosmopolitan of birds and birders.

Photo – University of Wisconsin © John Benson