It doesn't need to be said that these are strange times. We find ourselves saying things on a daily basis that we never thought we would ever say: pandemic, new normal, wide-spread shortages, and social distancing. The beauty of birding is it can be done with social distancing, in fact being distant from others is usually the norm. There are birding groups who go out for regular walks, but those have been cancelled. Even though they are outdoors, getting close can occur when everyone wants to see a particular bird and standing binocular to binocular can happen. Dan and I usually don't join birding groups, preferring not to "bird in a herd." But sometimes we do join in and have a great time. These days that's not safe. I never thought I'd write that in this birding blog.
Today while Dan worked from home, I took advantage of the balmy early afternoon and went to the local park in search of any early spring migrants. The playground is one place I like to bird, searching the edges of the wood while standing on the mulch. The posted sign gave me pause:
For some reason I didn't walk past the sign. I wanted to lead by example, I guess, even though I wasn't planning on birding from the slide or swings.
Instead I birded the bridge and creek area where I heard an Eastern Phoebe singing. They are early spring migrants here in northern Virginia. Sure enough I spotted one, on a nearby branch, wagging its tail up and down as a typical trait.
It was a treat to see this sweet little harbinger of early spring.
The boardwalk through the park was starting to get more folks on it, and I thought it best to head back home. On the way, I stepped off trail to look way up at a nesting cavity in a dead sycamore where we had seen Pileated Woodpecker activity a few days before.
This female was excavating the cavity, sawdust flying out. We're really hoping to see chicks pop their little pointed heads out of this cavity later in the season. Stay tuned!
Back home, I set my camera through the open kitchen window, and took some time observing the feathery parade in our back yard. A White-breasted Nuthatch grabbed a safflower seed from the platform feeder and flew it to a nearby oak tree to either stash or devour.
A Mourning Dove took a sunbath in one of our raised beds.
We keep a steady supply of seed and suet for the birds as well as a birdbath with a water wiggler to attract them. I'll post more photos from our yard. We will go out on day trips this spring to places where keeping social distance is easy and observe the spring migration show. Birding is a good thing to do these days. Give it a try, and please stay well.
