As we pulled up to the red light at the corner of 7th Street and Alvarado in downtown Los Angeles, Andrea Jones shouted “There’s a Black-crowned Night Heron.” And sure enough, there it was, gliding out from behind the sign for the Cambio de Cheques/check cashing store against the colorful background of the farmacia on the opposite corner. We watched the bird soar above the crowded crosswalk and the thumping of the car stereos until it disappeared behind the Langer’s Delicatessen.

That was our first indication that Bird LA Day on May 2 was going to be something remarkable.

We were there to join a birding walk led by the Los Angeles Audubon Society at MacArthur Park, one of more than thirty events being held throughout the greater Los Angeles area in a giant decentralized celebration of birds. For instance, as we stepped into MacArthur Park, birders were raising their binoculars miles away at the Museum of Natural History of Los Angeles County, in Whittier’s Sycamore Canyon, at Ballona Wetlands, at the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve and at the Madrona Marsh in Torrance (pictured above).

But this wasn’t your normal birding walk. The birders were joined by more than thirty third-graders from Esperanza Elementary School. The school’s principal, Brad Rumble, is a Los Angeles Audubon Society board member, and was leading the walk. The students’ depth of knowledge and enthusiasm was truly inspiring. One young boy holding a Sibley Guide, ran up to Audubon President David Yarnold and announced, “I’m a birder!”

One of the best ways to view Bird LA Day is to look at all the social media the events generated throughout the day. We’ve compiled some of highlights here.

The idea for Bird LA Day arose from the notion that while Los Angeles County is known for many things – the movie business, freeways, surfing, etc. – it probably doesn’t get its due for being one of the best places for birds in the country. Historically, more than 520 different bird species have been spotted in Los Angeles County, with more than 300 of those being seen just so far this year. The fact that Los Angeles hosts so many different kinds of habitat – beaches, deserts, mountains, forests, woodlands, marshes, you name it – makes this kind of diversity possible.

Bird LA Day was meant to remind Angelenos that birds are one of the many wondrous things that unite people in every corner of this all the disparate corners of this great megalopolis.

As the day continued, participants enjoyed a tour of the Moore Lab of Ornithology at Occidental College. Others attended a bird sketching called put on by the Pasadena Audubon Society at the Audubon Center at Debs Park, which later hosted a series of bird walks. A solid crowed attended the birding walk put on by the Friends of Griffith Park.

Los Angeles County boasts a large community of birders. While California hosts the largest number of Audubon members in any state, Los Angeles has more Audubon members of any county in California. The area supports nine strong Audubon chapters. But Audubon is just the beginning. There is a broad diversity of organizations promoting the protection and enjoyment of the natural environment in Los Angeles County.

Los Angeles County recently led all counties in the number of checklists submitted to the Great Backyard Bird Count, a national event that encourages people to report the birds they have seen during the period of Feb. 14-17. Bird enthusiasts here submitted 816 checklists identifying 258 different species – no other county in the country was even close.

Later in the day, our group visited Earvin “Magic” Johnson Park in South Los Angeles, where we joined a group of teenagers from nearby Simon Tech High School to bird this urban park. The group had spent part of the morning doing habitat restoration at White Point Park in San Pedro.

Bird LA Day events rolled right into dusk. National Parks Service rangers hosted viewing events at three rooftop bars in downtown Los Angeles, and many other birders gathered along the Los Angeles River for a birding picnic. A huge group of birders wrapped up their bird walk in Malibu with a trip to a nearby Mexican restaurant.

The idea for Bird LA Day hatched during a series of small gatherings in the home of Audubon California Board Member Susan Gottlieb that brought together people interested in promoting the unheralded natural beauty of Los Angeles. By the time Bird LA Day took place on May 2, nearly two dozen organizations were involved.

But the beauty of the events was that Angelenos who couldn’t attend one of the events could join the fun by posting their sightings on the Bird L.A. Facebook page, as well as on Twitter via the #BirdLADay.