Highest average species richness
Site 5 in Durham averaged 15.75 species across its recording sessions.
Project update
Thank you to everyone who helped us listen to the urban morning chorus across six cities in 2026.
Participating cities: Denver, Fort Collins, Seattle, Los Angeles, Durham, and Campobasso, Italy.
Site 5 in Durham averaged 15.75 species across its recording sessions.
At Site 18 in Los Angeles, the volunteer did not hear a single bird during any of the recording sessions.
We shared highlights from the field season and thanked the volunteers who made this work possible.
The Concrete Chorus Project is a community science initiative investigating how urban environments shape bird diversity. Volunteers participate by collecting brief bird sound recordings at specific locations throughout their city using the free Merlin Bird ID app. This data will help us understand patterns like the "luxury effect," where wealthier neighborhoods sometimes—but not always—host greater biodiversity. We're also interested in learning more about how we can design cities to better support urban birds, given the alarming declines in bird populations all over the world. Your participation is key to understanding the concrete chorus!
