Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Launches New Digital Initiative, Backyard Birding

Celebrating Birding with New Video Series, Zine and Online Resources

Los Angeles, CA (April 14, 2022) — This spring, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM) launches Backyard Birding, a whimsical, visually engaging, and fact-packed digital series all about birds in Los Angeles County. Its first season, live today, features five brief videos narrated by NHM’s birding experts Dr. Allison Shultz, assistant curator of ornithology, and Kimball Garrett, emeritus collections manager of ornithology.

Noted ornithologists, Shultz and Garrett explain what is special about Los Angeles as a habitat for diverse species of birds and what makes L.A. the birdiest county in the United States with over 500 species of native birds. Produced to inspire new birders and the bird curious, video viewers can learn which types of birds are common in the area, what their habitats look like, and what seasons they may be encountered. Backyard Birding encourages visitors to spend time appreciating the natural environment in Los Angeles County and celebrate the sights and sounds of springtime.

The Backyard Birding landing page features a bird zine, bird-related articles, videos, and the latest bird-related research being conducted by NHM’s own scientists. Additional content aims to engage with community partners and elevate the voices of birding students at a local L.A. school, birding clubs, and nature lovers all around L.A. County. Following the inaugural season of Backyard Birding, NHM will continue sharing new birding content to be enjoyed by birding amateurs and experts alike.

Backyard Birding arrives in time to help Angelenos document bird species in the annual City Nature Challenge taking place April 29 to May 2, 2022. Run by the Community Science teams at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and California Academy of Sciences, the Challenge is an annual four-day global bioblitz at the end of April, where cities are in a collaboration-meets-friendly-competition to see not only what can be accomplished when we all work toward a common goal, but also which city can gather the most observations of nature, find the most species, and engage the most people in the event.

Experience this new series at NHM.ORG/backyardbirding.