Birding in Place
Dark-Eyed Junco
It’s been nearly a week since the beginning of the Bay Area shelter in place order, and just a few days into the California mandate to stay at home. I’ve been trying to take special care to ensure that I maintain social distancing, but I’m also currently pausing my park visits. We are allowed to go to parks for exercise, but so far I’ve been preferring to walk in my neighborhood since I figure the parks would be quite populated. I’m still adjusting to this new reality as is everyone else, and perhaps I’ll sneak in a park visit soon.
Birding is an important part of my life, and in an effort to maintain some sense of normalcy, I created a list of birding-related activities to do during these times that I wanted to share.
Bird from your window, backyard, or patio
I’m starting to slow down my pace of life. For example, i’m eating meals at the dinner table and not mindlessly shoveling down food in front of a computer. During one of my recent relaxing meals next to the window, I spotted an American Crow carrying a stick. I watched it land – a nest! I would have never noticed this camouflaged nest had I not been watching the birds while eating. Now I have something to watch during the breeding season.
Crack open your field guide or use AllAboutBirds.org to study birds
Have you mastered gulls yet? Sparrows? Sandpipers? Warblers? Now is a good time to start!
Plan future birding trips
This is definitely not a good time to travel, but that doesn’t mean you can’t plan a future trip once things get back to normal. Get planning now so that you can easily put it into action.
Sign up for a course on Bird Academy
I’ve signed up for three courses thus far. The first one I finished over the span of a year and a half – “Ornithology: Comprehensive Bird Biology.” This is really science-based. I learned about the physics of flight, biology, ecology, all the “-ology” subjects related to birds.
I’m in the process of going through the “Be a Better Birder: Shorebird Identification Archived Live Series” and “Be a Better Birder: Warbler Identification.” The first course is a recorded webinar from a few years ago, but it’s still very helpful. The second course is designed for web-based learning and so far has been enjoyable.
Paint, draw, color, needlepoint, or other projects that involve birds
Are you crafty or want to start a new creative outlet? Merge your favorite pastimes!
Subscribe to a birding magazine
What better way to spend the time indoors than reading about birds! My favorite is the Bird Watcher’s Digest which takes me a long time to read. It’s worth every penny.
Talk a walk around the block
It’s OK to get exercise! Just be sure to practice social distancing in order to keep you, family, and others safe. I already spotted an Oak Titmouse nest cavity and a possible California Scrub-Jay nesting site by slowing down and looking at the local birds.
Watch a webcam
There are a lot of webcams! Check out some of these:
Watch documentaries and nature shows
Got Netflix or other streaming services? Look at their selection of nature shows. No streaming service? Go to YouTube! One tried-and-true movie that is awesome is The Big Year (2011).