Vast 'Concrete Jungle' Is Also A Vital Wildlife Habitat

"Defying its reputation as a concrete jungle, the [Southern California] region holds a lofty status in the bird-watching world as home to more species than all but two states in the nation...

[A] 225-acre reserve near the intersection of the Ventura and San Diego freeways [is a] wildlife oasis. [Built] in phases between 1979 and 1998 at the edge of a massive flood control basin, is one of many bird havens in the region that act as a buttress against development that has slowly consumed Southern California's once-abundant avian habitat. Such havens also make bird-watching as accessible as visiting a mall.

...the total number of species spotted in the region is growing even as some individuals continue to be threatened by pollution, development and habitat loss...Some of the credit for the region's profusion has to go to the birds themselves for showing adaptability in the face of a growing concrete-and-steel environment...From an ecological standpoint, no one can be happy that once abundant species are now crowded into limited habitat."