The history of Avalon's Bird Park

Travelers heading along Avalon Canyon Road toward Hermit Gulch or the Botanic Garden have gone past the former site of Catalina Island’s Bird Park. Set opposite the Catalina Island Golf Course, its entrance gate and flight cage remain in place today. The flight cage, the park’s central structure, had earlier stood where the Catalina Island Casino is now located. Measuring 90 feet height by 115 feet in diameter, it functioned as a dance pavilion when that area was called Sugarloaf Point.

The aviary opened in 1929 and closed in 1966, and for over 35 years it was a well-loved free Avalon attraction. Covering nearly 8 acres, the park cost $400,000 to construct and was considered the world’s largest bird park at the time. It also supported a breeding program for endangered species and operated a research facility. Bird Park housed almost 8,000 birds across hundreds of species, including exotic and rare birds from around the globe such as penguins, toucans, parrots, peacocks and peafowl. Avalon's Bird Park grew from the vision of Ada and William Wrigley, Jr., the owners of Catalina Island, who shared a deep enthusiasm for birds.

Bird Park was not only popular with guests; it also played a role in a major Hollywood production. In 1939, the sound team for MGM’s The Wizard of Oz came to Avalon to capture audio from many of Bird Park’s 8,000 birds. The crew recorded more than 15,000 feet of calls, chirps and songs, creating what was regarded as the most complete collection of bird noises at that time. Those bird sounds were later manipulated at different speeds and in various ways, then used throughout the film, including in the eerie audio for the witch’s Haunted Forest.

Following the attack at Pearl Harbor, Catalina Island shut down to visitors and was occupied by U.S. military forces through the rest of WWII. Once the war ended, island visitation fell, and the Santa Catalina Island Company chose to close the famed Bird Park in 1966. The birds were relocated from the island, with many going to the Los Angeles Zoo, which opened the same year.