For the Birds

"I thought, why don't I take up birding? It's like real-life Pokemon Go."
- Conner Brown to the LA Times, May 3, 2020 (LA Times)

Rob attached clear bird feeders to our kitchen windows a few months ago, not for the human inhabitants of the house, but to entertain (and frustrate) our cats. The cats have learned to tune out the birds, but the little creatures who dine outside our kitchen have provided endless amusement and joy for us during quarantine. We have joined the legions of Americans in thrilling to bird watching and identification.

After reading about free bird identification apps, I downloaded the Merlin ID from The Cornell Lab. I used it to research two unusual birds that Aden and I saw during our Sunday morning bike ride. The lovely bird with the yellow breast was the Western Meadowlark, which I know by its beautiful song but not by its plumage. The bright blue individual in a tree was a Blue Jay, which we don't usually find in our neighborhood. Then yesterday we caught sight of the first visitor to our new hummingbird feeder and Merlin ID'd a Broad-tailed Hummingbird by its beautiful red throat and green jacket. (A friend of mine with several hummingbird feeders posted lovely photos of her first visitors of the season with the caption "The Boys are Back in Town," which now runs through my head every time I think about hummingbirds).

The bird songs raise my spirits when I'm down, when tears unexpectedly come and blur the outdoor scene (precarious on a bike - I crashed last week). National headlines are not-so-good and it's difficult to keep spirits up, which makes the birds even more necessary. I love the headlines about bird watching "taking flight" and the knowledge that thousands of Americans are supporting our song birds by adding bird houses and feeders to their backyards. The population of song birds has dropped significantly in the past decades and I am hopeful that our new national past time will put our enchanting feathered friends on the rebound. If interested, here is an article from the New York Times with tips on watching birds: Try Watching Birds.


Stay safe and well.
xoxo
Laura