President’s Letter: Educated and Entertained Online
By Lori Danielson
While staying at home this spring and summer, I’ve spent quite a bit of time online. After hearing the news about the New York Central Park encounter between birder Christian Cooper and dog walker Amy Cooper, I wanted to learn more about how to make birding more welcoming and inclusive for people of color. I found a very informative interview with Christian Cooper, who is a New York City Audubon board member, done by the PBS’s NOVA team. It’s a very interesting and educational insight into Mr. Cooper’s life and the challenges of birding for Black people. You can watch this interview here.
I’ve also been watching bird life remotely by tuning in to several live bird cameras online. During the spring nesting season, I enjoyed watching a Peregrine Falcon family in Tacoma, Great Horned Owl chicks in Montana, and even a California Condor nest. There’s even a camera that continues to capture the events in a young Northern Royal Albatross’s life, including occasional feeding visits from its parents, as it slowly matures in its New Zealand nest. Being able to observe the behavior of these wild birds during this time has been very fascinating and educational for me.
Now that nesting season is pretty much over, I’ve focused more attention on the cameras aimed at bird feeders. There’s one in west Texas, showing hummingbirds of the area. Another cam is in the jungle of Panama, giving me a glimpse of tropical birds and bats. And for a “trip” to the east coast, I go to the Cornell FeederWatch cam for a peek at the birds of New York State.
These online windows into people’s lives, different parts of the world, and bird life, have satisfied a little of my pent-up desire for travel, meeting new people, and birdwatching during the pandemic. Here are a few links to some live cams if you would enjoy watching them:
Explore . org’s cameras (choose “Birds” from the top menu)
Lastly, don’t forget to register for Eastside Audubon’s new Virtual Program Nights! On the fourth Thursday of every month, the chapter is providing presentations by renowned naturalists on topics celebrating wildlife and wild spaces. Our next program will take place on August 27th at 7pm and will feature a photographic tour of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge by Dan Streiffert.