Chicken Corner received the following from Benjamin Cole, a reader who lives down by the banks of the river:

Enjoyed your piece on the birds. I jog almost daily with my dog on the LA River. Used to have abundant bird life, now not so much. Still, see great blues, egrets, ducks, coots, cormorants. Peregrine falcons, other hawks etc. The bird life declined about the same time you mentioned decline in Echo Park. I do not know if it was a decline in carp (they were fished by people mostly), disease, or even coyotes that caused the bird life fall-off. At times at night I could hear coyote yips and squawking birds. I live about 100 years from the river.

Seems like with a little effort, we could have plenty of bird life in Los Angeles. Oh, I saw a V of Canadian Geese flying through Echo Park about three weeks back, at low altitude, and have seen geese on the river too.

Chicken Corner agrees heartily we would reap enormous benefits from every bit of effort we expend to protect/improve our urban wild spaces. Sort of like paying down your mortgage.

As for Canada Geese flying over the river, last night at dusk, my daughter and I saw three separate formations of Canadas flying in V formation, eastward over the Los Feliz Boulevard bridge. Then we saw a solo Canada goose flying westward over the river. My daughter was concerned and disturbed about the lone flyer. Perhaps he or she was looking for Echo Park.