Baby swallows peek from a Port Angeles nesting box. (Philip D. Lusk)

Baby swallows peek from a Port Angeles nesting box. (Philip D. Lusk)

Centrum Communiversity program affirms birders

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is another story in an intermittent series about outings that local residents can enjoy during a time when all are urged to keep their distance from each other and recreational venues are closed.

PORT TOWNSEND — Like the humans around here, birds are nesting — and singing in choirs more audible than ever.

“There’s a natural experiment going on that we could dive into,” said Robyn Bailey, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology scientist who appeared in Centrum’s Communiversity program Monday.

People tell her they’re hearing birdsong better since the coronavirus pandemic quieted much of the country’s motor traffic. And that’s only a chip of what’s taking place during, as she put it, “this pause that we’re on.”

In her 90-minute online presentation delivered live via Zoom, Bailey invited her viewers — 62 households — to participate in bird- and nest-watching, forms of citizen science that can help the Cornell lab understand the changing world of humans and wildlife.

“It’s no exaggeration,” she said, “that much of what we know about birds is because of everyday people,” contributing counts and observations to websites such as NestWatch.org and FeederWatch.org.

As universities put their research on hold, the Cornell lab is turning to people at home, in their yards and on their neighborhood walks.

Last year brought an awakening, Bailey said. A report of a bird population loss numbering 2.9 billion since 1970 became “a media sensation.”

More information awaits at 3billionbirds.org, she noted, adding it’s not too late to tackle that trend.

“There is hope; our best hope is you,” Bailey declared before she outlined a list of at-home measures to give birds better chances at raising families:

• Put stickers or other bird deterrents on windows.

• Keep cats indoors, or harness them for walks, or put in an enclosed “cat-io” patio.

• Plant low, medium-height and tall plants to host a variety of birds.

• Skip pesticides so birds can eat the bugs.

• Reduce plastics and dispose of them carefully.

• Drink “bird-friendly,” shade-grown coffee.

The dark-eyed junco is among the common birds NestWatch scientist Robyn Bailey urges local residents to follow. (Philip D. Lusk)

The dark-eyed junco is among the common birds NestWatch scientist Robyn Bailey urges local residents to follow. (Philip D. Lusk)

The Cornell lab also calls people to join its “data quests.” The lab is studying dark-eyed juncos and flycatchers, among others, so backyard birders are asked to monitor their nesting behavior using NestWatch.org.

The site provides information for amateur ornithologists out there in springtime, while FeederWatch.org is a site to use in winter.

“It’s still fairly early in the nesting season,” Bailey said, adding NestWatch has a guide to choosing birdhouses for the right species.

“I’m curious to see, when the data come in, if anything is different” in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, she added.

During the question-and-answer portion, a viewer asked Bailey why the birds seemed to have disappeared from a backyard feeder in recent weeks.

That’s a common question this time of year, she said.

Bailey answered that, when birds’ natural foods — insects and plant life — are abundant, those feeders will see reduced visits.

“It doesn’t mean you should stop,” Bailey said.

When they have young to feed, and they’re exhausted from building nests and caring for hatchlings, avian parents can use the food humans are offering, she added.

Cornell also runs eBird, an app that helps people track the birds they see and hear around their homes.

Bailey urged residents to take notice of the common species — robins, juncos and chickadees — since surprises, even comedy, are out there.

She once received a photo of a great horned owl nesting in the middle of a great blue heron colony.

Bailey’s Communiversity presentation was the last from Centrum for a while.

The nonprofit producer of workshops, festivals and artist residencies suspended its May through August gatherings, including the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes and the Acoustic Blues Workshop, until summer 2021.

The Port Townsend Ukulele Festival and the next Communiversity program, with photographer Richard Ross presenting his “In Justice” series, are still on for September.

For information, go to Centrum.org or call 360-385-3102.

________

Diane Urbani de la Paz, a former features editor for the Peninsula Daily News, is a freelance writer living in Port Townsend.

More in News

Sequim City Council members finalized through their consent agenda to ban the sale of fireworks effective October 2025. They held a public hearing last month that garnered mostly support for the ban. (Matthew Nash/Olympic Peninsula News Group)
Sequim finalizes ban on fireworks

Ordinance change will go into effect next October

Matthew Nash/Olympic Peninsula News Group
Rich Krebsbach, manager of the Highland Irrigation District, asks questions of Rhiana Barkie, Clallam County public works project coordinator. The map is one of four new options for the Dungeness Off-Channel Reservoir project. Public input is being taken through the county’s website at https://www.clallamcountywa.gov/188/Dungeness-Off-Channel-Reservoir-Project.
Sequim reservoir project draws crowd, questions

Clallam County, FEMA public comment period open through Nov. 21

Christmas gift inspires playground cleanup

Veteran volunteer collects playground metal

Weekly flight operations scheduled

There will be field carrier landing practice operations for aircraft… Continue reading

World War II veteran Arthur Bradow, right, and his daughter Barbara Cason admire a quilt sewn by his niece for his 100th birthday on Dec. 13. Bradow served in the Merchant Marine in the Pacific Theater of Operations and stateside in the U.S. Army Air Forces. (Paula Hunt/Peninsula Daily News)
Veteran has 100 years’ worth of experience

Looks back at long life and wealth of knowledge

Veterans Day ceremonies set

Organizations across the Peninsula will conduct a variety of services in observance… Continue reading

Changes to code for floodplain delayed

Effects on Brinnon and farmland considered

EYE ON THE PENINSULA: Proposed budgets top Peninsula agency agendas

Meetings across the North Olympic Peninsula.

Lisa Bridge of Sequim is given a tour by Cithlali Chavez of Fred Hutch Cancer Center inside the giant inflatable colon discussing colon health on Wednesday at the Port Angeles Senior Center’s health and wellness fair. Representatives from Olympic Medical Center, Jamestown Family Health Clinic, North Olympic Healthcare, Clallam County Health and Human Services, Elwha Klallam Tribe and Peninsula Behavior Health were present to answer questions. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)
Health and wellness fair

Lisa Bridge of Sequim is given a tour by Cithlali Chavez of… Continue reading

Budget projects $6M loss for OMC

Expenses continue to outpace revenues

Port Angeles implements annual business license fee

Those with gross revenue over $25,000 to pay $190

Commissioners discuss addition of south county deputy

Budget modifications may support position