Landfills might seem like the last place to look for meaningful bird diversity—but new research says otherwise. In this episode, we unpack findings from the PLOS ONE study “Not just trash birds: Quantifying avian diversity at landfills using community science data” (Arnold et al. 2021)
Using thousands of eBird checklists, researchers compared 19 U.S. landfills to nearby natural sites. While landfills did show more gulls and scavengers—as expected—they also supported grassland specialists, migratory waterfowl, and a surprisingly broad mix of species. The indicator species analysis on page 7 even highlights Eastern Meadowlark and Savannah Sparrow appearing more often at landfills than at reference sites.
Far from being ecological dead zones, landfills contain grasslands, wetlands, and forest edges (clearly shown in Figure 1 on page 2) that create habitat mosaics for diverse birds. This episode explores how these unexpected pockets of habitat can play a role in conservation—and why birders and window bird feeder owners might want to rethink what a “good” birding spot looks like.
