Whichever city Lake Balboa is in, it gets my vote because it makes way for ducklings.

That’s what Audubon California wants to know. (If the municipality is in California, that is.) Through next week, it’s running a contest to determine the state’s most bird-friendly burg, considering factors like adequate habitat, laws and regulations that benefit birds, and the general populace’s interest in all things avian. No word on what the grand prize is, but anyone who helps spread the word about the promotion will get a “Birds Matter” sticker.

According to an Audubon California spokesperson, the contest is part of Audubon’s national effort to make communities more bird-friendly and -aware. If your state chapter isn’t running a similar campaign (or if you live out of Audubon’s auspices), feel free to make the comments section below your voting booth. What place do you think deserves “bird-friendliest” honors, and why?

Written by Meredith Mann
The lowly Red-winged Blackbirds in suburban New York triggered Meredith Mann's interest in birds. Five years later, she's explored some of the the USA's coolest hotspots, from Plum Island in Massachusetts to the Magic Hedge in Chicago to the deserts of Fallon, Nevada. She recently migrated from the Windy City (where she proudly served as a Chicago Bird Collision Monitor, rescuing migrants from skyscrapers and sidewalks) to Philadelphia, where she plans to find new editing and writing gigs; keep up her cool-finds chronicle, Blog5B; and discover which cheesesteak really is the best. And she will accept any and all invitations to bird Cape May, NJ.