Los Angeles is an amazing place for birds, but you don’t have to go up into Santa Monica Mountains for find great examples. There are all kinds of surprises right down in the middle of the urban environment.

Which brings us to one of the more fascinating events for the May 2 Bird LA Day, a massive, decentralized celebration of birds taking place throughout the greater Los Angeles area. This would be the family birding at Ervin “Magic Johnson Park in South Los Angeles from 2 to 4 p.m. This is a section of the city that probably hasn’t been thoroughly explored by area birders, and that adds to the thrill of the place.

“This is one of those nice urban gems that a lot of native birds are using,” says ornithologist Dan Cooper, who will be co-leading the event on May 2. “This is a great opportunity to observe the birds that are coming to the L.A. basin in search of habitat. There’s always something to see there.”

Cooper says that attendees are certain to see Snowy Egrets and Ruddy Ducks in the park’s man-made lake. Cassin’s Kingbirds, Red-tailed Hawks and Cooper’s Hawks should also be on view.

Bird LA Day is being held at the height of spring migration, which Cooper says could bring out some terrific surprises, such as Western Bluebird, Vermillion Flycatcher, Black-necked Stilt, Western Tanager, warblers and many others.

Cooper and co-host Marcos Trinidad will have spotting scopes and binoculars on-hand for attendees. Members of the Audubon YES club from Simon Tech High School will also be there to help explore the wonders of this urban park.

The group will be at the southern lake, which can be reached by parking lots off El Segundo Blvd. and Avalon. The address is 905 E. El Segundo Boulevard, Los Angeles. The park was formerly known as Willowbrook Park.