The other day an oddly colored American Goldfinch showed up at my feeders. It looked just like a female American Goldfinch in breeding plumage except the black in her wings was very faded. She seems to be a leucistic goldfinch with “dilute plumage.”
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 rare few stick it out through the Mid-Atlantic winter (and even more northern spots) and don’t migrate.
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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.