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Berkeley is Home and Waystation to Many Birds
Berkeley, California is home to a variety of birds. The city is located in the Pacific Flyway, one of four major migratory routes for birds in North America. This route stretches from Mexico to Alaska, going through western states and through the San Francisco Bay Area. During migration season, as many as one million birds will pass through the region, including songbirds, raptors, and shorebirds.
Indeed, the San Francisco Bay is one of the largest estuaries in the United States and as such, provides a vitally important habitat for a diversity of resident and migratory bird populations. The Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network describes these wetlands as having the highest rate of shorebirds passing through or spending the winter on Pacific coast and the area is recognized as a biodiversity hotspot.
The city of Berkeley itself is located on the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area and is home to many different bird species, including waterfowl, songbirds, and raptors. According to iNaturalist, a crowdsourced nature observation platform, at least 141 different species of birds have been sighted in the city. The most common include Anna's Hummingbirds, Black-crowned Night-Herons, and Snowy Egrets. In Aquatic Park (a local shoreline park), eBird users have documented 201 separate species. These numbers reflect the diversity of species that call Berkeley—either temporarily or permanently—home.
Birds are Valuable in Many Ways
Birds provide both instrumental and intrinsic value to the ecosystem. This means that birds are important because they provide benefits to humans—through various ecosystem services—as well as having value as themselves, separate from human interests.
Birds provide four main types of ecosystem services:
Supporting services: These services enable other services to be provided. These services include spreading nutrients and seeds. With their long distances and mass migration patterns, birds are particularly effective at dispersing nutrients in large quantities across the globe, which shape the foundational level (primary production) of ecosystems.
Provisioning services: These services produce tangible goods, such as eggs. The majority of these services are reaped in the farming industry.
Regulating services: Birds also help to manage ecosystem processes, such as by controlling pests—such as weeds, insects, and rodents—that harm crops. In addition, birds are valuable pollinators, a role which also increases agricultural yield and allows other plant species to thrive.
Cultural services: These are intangible benefits that birds provide, from being artistic inspiration, domestic pets, mental health, and subjects of recreational activities.
Bird wildlife in Berkeley confer many of these services directly and indirectly (though probably less in the area of provisioning services). Birds passing through can nourish local habitats, support regional agriculture, and provide enjoyment for residents via hikes, birdwatching, or listening to birdsong in the morning. The numerous iNaturalist observations throughout the city reflect widespread interest in birds as members of the Berkeley community.
However, others will point out that birds—as well as nature more broadly—have a worth distinct from the benefits they issue to humans. Environmental advocates argue that it is important to consider this intrinsic value because instrumental value changes relative to circumstances (i.e., what alternatives are available). An instrumental value approach requires conservation efforts to be justified (usually economically). However, some species may not appear to have much instrumental value, which would lead to more development than conservation. Many may not see the outcome of this approach as desirable, and indeed the truth is that nature (including birds) are uniquely valuable—in other words, not replaceable!
Birds everywhere, including Berkeley, are facing risks.
Unfortunately, birds are on the decline. It is estimated that the global population of birds has decreased since pre-agricultural times by 20 to 25 percent. According to a study published in 2022, almost half of all bird species are "known or suspected" to be in decline. Another study in 2019 estimated that North America had lost 3 billion breeding birds in the past half century.
In Berkeley, birds face a variety of risks. A combination of factors, including climate change, urban sprawl, and agricultural development, has dramatically changed the landscape of cities, forcing many native species to adapt to new and unfamiliar habitats. These species must learn to navigate hostile built environment structures. Beyond habitat loss and climate change, the urban environment poses unique threats to local birds. These risks are described below.
Occupying both sky and land, birds face unique risks from ground to air, including:
In air: Light pollution caused by excessive lighting or harmful lighting systems
In interstitial space: Collisions due to reflective glass on windows, highways, and railways that run at speeds too high for birds to maneuver around
On the ground: Habitat loss and predation by domestic cats
The City of Berkeley is Initiating Vital Efforts to Address Bird Safety…
Recognizing the importance of bird safety, the City of Berkeley has begun efforts to draft and approve a "Bird Safe Ordinance" that would address the use of transparent materials in new construction and renovations. After reviewing a suggested ordinance in March 2023, the Planning Commission made a motion to pass an updated version to the City Council for approval. More information on this ordinance can be found on the next page.
…But More Can Be Done
The City's Bird Safe Ordinance represents an important step towards building a more bird-friendly Berkeley, but there is more that the City, its residents, and other stakeholders can do. Read on for our recommendations.
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