Echo Park Birds Stuck in Muck

Looks like I’m not the only one who has noticed how many birds are dying and sick in Echo Park Lake. Chicken Corner, an Echo Park blog, wrote this week about the problem, with lots of locals weighing in as well. The blog’s author, Jenny Burman, apparently spoke to a Parks & Rec worker who thinks it may be avian botulism. Yuk. It does sound like it could be, though—the sick birds seem stuck and unable to move in whatever the toxic-spill looking stuff is on the edges of the lake.

With that lovely image in your minds, how about a look at some lake-view houses? Here are a couple in the hills (more like bumps) close to the lake:

• Here’s a 3/2 short sale for $380,000. The listing photo was apparently taken by a blind person, because it seems to be a shot of the floor of the garage. Not too helpful.
• Here’s a pretty 5/2 that’s billed as being in a historical district. It’s listed at $799,000 and has been on the market a mere 24 hours.
• And here’s something for the adventurous buyer—a build-it-yourself opportunity. This is listed as a “single family home with approved plans for six 1600 sq. ft. houses on 6 small lots.” They are asking $649,000…but I’ll be curious to see if there are any takers on developing in this market.