The annual Mass Audubon Bird-a-thon, to be held on Friday and Saturday, will have a different feel this year. The event, the organization’s biggest fundraiser of the year, will be titled Bird-at-home-a-thon, reflecting stay-at-home measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event usually has bird enthusiasts spread out all over the state in an attempt to identify the most species in a 24-hour period.
While we shelter, events like this are a welcome respite from the constant reminder we are under siege by a virus that we can’t see or touch. Getting involved with nature in such a way reminds of the vast world around us and is likely to take our minds to a different place. National Audubon Society President and CEO David Yarnold told Axios, “You can get the joy of being outside and appreciating the most prolific wildlife on the planet. The sense, at this moment, that there’s life out there feels a little like hope.”
Mass Audubon officials expect the event to attract hundreds of birders of all abilities. Participants will select a bird observation spot, a window, a backyard or a space within a walk or bike riding distance from there homes. Driving to locations is prohibited.
The event is taking place during peak spring migration when millions of birds are returning to Massachusetts to breed and raise young. Because of the vast amount of birds, a variety of species are likely to seen. “We expect to see Cape May Warblers, Blackpoll Warblers and Bay-breasted Warblers that migrate through our area during the spring but do not stay and breed here. They continue on to the north and their breeding grounds. It is inspiring to see and hear these birds because they have already traveled thousands of miles from South America on their journey. Think of all that they have endured just to get to where they are now …,” said Derek Allard, Arcadia/Mass Audubon volunteer.
As we look for ways to expand our worlds while only traveling a short distance, the Audubon event represents a positive step toward appreciating and recognizing what nature has to offer. And folks are taking notice. According to Fox News, the free bird identification app from the renowned Cornell Lab of Ornithology was downloaded 8,500 times during Easter weekend alone.
“The birds don’t know that there’s a pandemic,” said amateur bird watcher Michael Kopack Jr., of Angier, North Carolina. “It kind of takes us back to a magical time six or eight weeks ago when there was no pandemic.”
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May 12, 2020 at 09:09PM
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Bird-a-thon event offers respite from virus (Editorial) - masslive.com
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