The Hannon Library makes an excellent bird observatory. With views that command the Bluff, Playa Vista, and the nearby wetlands, you can spot a wide variety of species even without binoculars. How many species can you see? We’ve made a checklist to get you going (see below).
Large, bright white Great Egrets are particularly easy to see at a distance. Red-tailed hawks, especially the ones that live at LMU’s ballpark, frequently fly very near the library windows. Just below the library on the bluff, you might find a surprisingly large number of smaller birds foraging, perching, or even dust-bathing in the exposed sandy soil. These can be seen easily from the windows in the Information Commons on Level One.
Some birds are seasonal visitors from our local mountains, living in the mountains during the summer and moving to the valleys of Los Angeles during the winter, like the Yellow-rumped Warbler.
The library also has great books and databases on bird life. The Sibley Guide to Birds is an excellent start, but the Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Western North America might be even more helpful. If you’re birding in the library with your laptop or smartphone, we recommend our subscription database Birds of the World Online. Also check out iNaturalist, an app that lets you record your observations while seeing what other members are observing – worldwide!
Checklist – in no particular order
Common Raven
Red-tailed Hawk
Mourning Dove
Great Egret
Common Sparrow (House Sparrow)
Song Sparrow (more likely to be heard than seen!)
House Finch
Mockingbird
Ring-necked Parakeet (rare in LA but common at LMU)
American Crow
Brewer’s Blackbird
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Kingbird
Black-crowned Night Heron
California Gull
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Robin
Dark-eyed Junco
Great Blue Heron
Rock Pigeon (rare at LMU but very common in L.A.!)
Black Phoebe
Anna’s Hummingbird
Allen’s Hummingbird
Western Scrub Jay
European Starling
Lesser Goldfinch
Northern Flicker
Mallard Duck
White-shinned Hawk
American Kestrel
Canada Goose
Great-tailed Grackle
Herring Gull
Western Gull