As COVID-19 has still been spreading rapidly through the country, I have found it almost necessary to get outside, in my backyard and in my development, as a means of escaping my house during this crisis. I have “ramped up” my birding attempts, though I am still learning about different bird calls and songs, so I am not able to identify all the birds that I can hear in my backyard.
Two weeks ago, I was unable to get outside as much as I would like, so I was not able to look for birds that often. I was able to find a few American robins perched on my fence and on wooden chairs in my backyard. Last week, I was able to go outside on April 5th for over an hour (soaking in the sun). I saw the following words:
- (1) Mourning Dove
- (1) Blue Jay
- (1) Carolina Wren
- (2) American Robin
- (2) House Finch
- (2) Dark-eyed Junco
- (1) Song Sparrow
- (1) Northern Cardinal
I heard the mourning dove, Carolina wren, Northern cardinal, house finches, and song sparrow. I saw the blue jay perched on a mid-level branch on a sweet gum tree in my backyard. I saw two American robins on the grass (before they saw me and flew). The two dark-eyed juncos were perched on the same sweet gum tree as the blue jay. Not to be out done from a few weeks ago (see March post), the song sparrow has (EVERY morning) decided to out-sing the Carolina wren in my backyard. The difference in species I heard and saw between the two weeks has almost certainly been in response to the lack of time I was able to spend outside two weeks ago. Again, there are certainly more species out in my backyard that I was not able to identify.
Two weeks ago, the weather stayed mostly in the 50s, with a three days in the 60s. It rained on and off all week, with at least four days of rain. In comparison, last week the weather was mostly in the 60s. The best day was perhaps April 5th, with the weather over 70°F. It also rained on and off last week, with at least three days of rain. It was warmer last week than two weeks ago, however it rained more two weeks ago.
Citations:
Berger, D. (2020, April 16). Backyard Tour [Video]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/AzyLN_q-aGk.
Berger, D. (2020, April 16). Birds [Video]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/_PV290Fl0FQ.