Bring Your Binoculars

As sharp-eyed birders recently discovered, the Getty Center is a layover spot for migrating birds and a habitat for a variety of native species

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Inside Getty

A group of people standing on a bridge look up into the tree branches using binoculars on a foggy day. — During a walk through the Central Garden at the Getty Center, birders from the Pasadena Audubon Society stop on a bridge to search the trees for the source of a birdsong.

By Cassia Davis

Dec 1, 2024

“California is a biodiversity hotspot, and Getty is in one of the most biodiverse parts of Los Angeles—the Santa Monica Mountains,” says Nurit Katz, chief sustainability officer at UCLA and faculty advisor for the Bruin Birding Club.

A group of people walk down a path in a large garden on a foggy day — The birders walk down the Central Garden’s zig-zag path.

On a foggy September morning, the Getty Center hosted its first official bird walk to discover just what species hide in our verdant gardens and rugged natural spaces. Members of the Pasadena Audubon Society (PAS) arrived at the Center hours before it opened to the public, armed with the essentials of their sport: comfortable shoes, binoculars, and cameras with zoom lenses.

As the sun emerged, the birders roamed Getty’s Central Garden and the hillside below, listening for the calls of birds camouflaged in the landscape.

Birders peek through the blooms, hoping to spot birds hiding in the foliage.
PAS member Jeff Fenwick stays perfectly still as he listens for birds.
A birder looks up at a large spider’s web bejeweled with dew.

Expert birders Catherine Hamilton and Darren Dowell co-led the excursion.

“We have a combination of things here that are really special,” Hamilton said about the landscaping. “The Center’s gardens are planted, not necessarily all native, and have water features. Around the edges of the Center are amazing chaparral hillside habitats. I was hoping we’d see a combination of migrant birds, resident birds, and chaparral specialties that are in the wilder areas on the sides, and we did!”

A group of people smiling and holding binoculars while standing on a ramp look out in front of them — Artist Catherine Hamilton (far right) co-leads the tour, offering information on bird species and the landscape.

Two people standing on a bridge, surrounded by plants, look up above their heads and one points — Jet Propulsion Laboratory research scientist Darren Dowell (left), the trip’s co-leader, helps birders identify bird calls and answers questions about species.

Camille Kirk, head of sustainability at Getty, joined the bird walk to better understand what species gravitate to the Center.

“To me, it is important to learn about and understand our natural environment so we can support the land’s health and, by extension, the species dependent on the land, including us humans! While one bird walk is more anecdotal than data-informed about the land’s health, seeing a variety of birds bodes well for the promise of the land and our opportunity to care for it and the species that live here.”

Two people peer over a hillside on a foggy morning, one using binoculars while the other shields their eyes from the sun with their hand — Camille Kirk peers at the chaparral hillside overlooking Los Angeles.

The birders spotted 26 species throughout the walk—an “impressive number for that time of year in a non-native environment,” Hamilton said. Here are some favorite moments.

Jeff Fenwick directs Catherine Hamilton to a white-crowned sparrow while walking through the Central Garden.
A birder peers through binoculars and fog to find the source of a birdsong.
Orange-crowned warbler

Photo: Jeffrey Fenwick

“Being able to get very close to an orange-crowned warbler that was foraging and bathing in the morning dew on the plants,” Jeffrey Fenwick said. “This species is usually very active and does not stay in one place for very long, so it was a pleasure seeing it up close for a couple of minutes in one general place.”

Amy Morris agreed. “I enjoyed getting an up-close look as the orange-crowned warbler bopped along the trellis overhead.”

Hear the orange-crowned warbler’s song.

Orange-crowned warbler video by Amy Morris

“Hummingbirds are one of the most amazingly adaptive birds,” Hamilton said. “They’ll utilize both native and non-native plants alike. So we had Anna’s hummingbirds and Allen’s hummingbirds.”

Hear Anna’s hummingbird song.

Hear Allen’s hummingbird song.

A small, fluffy bird with green feathers and a long beak sits perched on a twisted branch. — Anna’s hummingbird

Photo: Nurit Katz

A small, fluffy bird with a long beak perches on a branch — Allen’s hummingbird

Photo: Nurit Katz

“This photo of an ibis from our bird walk is really special—that is not a bird you expect to find in the Santa Monica Mountains in a place like Getty,” Katz said. “The bird was stopped at the water feature during migration, which gives us a sense of wonder and connectivity.”

Hear the white-faced ibis's call.

A water bird with a long, curved beak and long legs sits on a hedge over water. — White-faced ibis

Photo: Nurit Katz

A bird with a long beak and legs perches on a circular hedge in a manmade water feature — A white-faced ibis mid-migration takes a rest in the Getty’s Central Garden Bowl on the azalea maze.

“Although we were among birds that several of us know well, it was still a true adventure for us, not knowing what we would see next as we ventured further down the path, and as the dissipating fog revealed more of the landscape,” Dowell said. “Certainly any predictions of exactly what we would find were shattered when Catherine waved us over to view a roosting white-faced ibis.”

“I have a huge fondness for the California scrub jay,” Kirk said. “I think of them as like the terriers of birds—smart, filled with personality, eager to go after what they want, and very handsome.”

Hear the California scrub jay's call.