With the Covid-19 Coronavirus seemingly poking into every corner of everyday life, there is one pleasure we can continue to enjoy: watching birds. Whether taking a socially distant walk in a park or your neighborhood, sitting in your yard or simply looking out the window, bird watching can be a soothing activity in a stressful time. It can take your mind off things for a little while and give you a break from the current stresses of life. Here are some ideas for working some bird watching into your social distancing.
It is January in Maryland and I have a Baltimore Oriole hanging out in my back yard. Most orioles migrate south in the winter, although each year a very rare few stick it out through the Mid-Atlantic winter and don’t migrate. A juvenile male, this Baltimore Oriole showed up in my yard on December 23rd as I was cooking for our upcoming Christmas Eve celebration. I wondered why this Baltimore Oriole didn’t migrate and what in the world it could be eating. He’s come by at least daily ever since. While I still don’t know why he didn’t migrate with the rest, I have learned of at least some of this oriole’s unusual winter diet.
For the past week, Eastern Bluebirds have been bringing their fledglings to our feeder for dried mealworms. It’s been an eventful week. So far the parents have introduced them to the mealworm feeder. Two fledglings discovered a sprinkler. And one fledgling almost strangled himself in a feeder pole.
