Photo: nigel / Wikimedia Commons

A new study published in the journal Urban Ecosystems and co-authored by Environmental and Forest Sciences‘ John Marzluff and Sergey Rabotyagov tries to determine the economic value urbanites place on having birds in their parks, backyards, and green spaces. After conducting and analyzing nearly 700 surveys taken by residents in Seattle, Washington and Berlin, Germany, Marzluff and his team found that people in both cities place a sizable value on the enjoyment they derive from birds. City-dwellers in these regions, they found, have an above average affinity for common avian species – to the tune of $120 million in Seattle and $70 million in Berlin – and spend more on both bird food and nesting structures compared to other cities. Money spent on bird-supporting materials, in turn, benefits these individuals’ local economies. While previous studies have accessed peoples’ willingness to pay to see rare or charismatic birds and/or for conservation of endangered species, the scientists working on this project believe it marks the first effort to estimate the economic value of more usual birds, like finches and corvids (crows and magpies, for example).