I'm for feeding birds all year, but as we're celebrating it this month, stop a moment and be grateful that our warm-blooded friends live in the California climate. As the Wild Bird Centers of America reminds us:

- A typical backyard bird doesn't weigh as much as two nickels.
- Birds spend most of their waking hours searching for food -- without the help of "hands" and "fingers".
- They may consume 15% of their body weight overnight just keeping warm enough to survive.
- Like mail carriers, they're outside in sleet, snow, wind and cold.

Los Angeles is an urban bird watcher's paradise. The Los Angeles Audubon Society has frequent Introduction to Birdwatching classes as well as field trips and birdwalks, and many of our local canyons offer birdwatching hikes as well - check the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy's LA Mountains site. Because of our diverse geography, the LA area offers a large amount of birds - native, migratory, and water - so you can birdwatch year-round. There's plenty of feral parrots in the Pasadena/San Gabriel Valley area (local legend has attributes it to a pet store fire decades ago), or head to the desert and see what roadrunners really look like. Here's a handy list with directions to a variety of birdwatching spots around town.

If you're not the group type, there's plenty of local bird guides to get you started, whether on a solo hike or just to identify the hungry fellow who chirps in your backyard every morning. So grab a bag of food at your local plant shop or supermarket, and feed a hungry towhee today.

PS. Remember, keep your hummingbird feeder mold-free.

Illustration by artist and fellow birdwatcher Stephen B. Whatley.