The Hairy Woodpecker is one of the many birds that birders can find in the Tahoe Basin.
Provided by Ronan Hurley
With COVID-19 still ever so present, many are flocking to the outdoors to connect with nature and others in a safe, socially-distant way.
According to Tahoe Institute of Natural Science in Incline Village, interactions with wild animals in their own habitat can boost one’s mood and decrease physical symptoms of stress, such as fatigue, difficulty sleeping or even help to alleviate feelings of anxiety or depression.
TINS announced its 2021 “Tahoe Big Year” event. The year-long scavenger hunt invites people to scour the region for as many bird species as possible.
Feeling stuck inside and yearning for adventure? Do you want to learn more about the local animals that reside in Lake Tahoe’s wild landscape? Interested in a scavenger hunt that introduces you to new scenery…
A blue jay is shown. (Scot Stewart photo) “We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.” Edith Lovejoy Pierce
And so, the New Year has started! After the first week it would seem the world is still coping with the problems of 2020, but maybe, just maybe, coping with a greater sense of hope. Certainly, the New Year seems to already be presenting several new chapters suggesting that hope.
For birders in Marquette, the new chapter, in 2021, seems quite similar to the final chapter of 2021 great birds! At the end of 2020 birders found a number of really great birds to seek out. The list included several snowy owls seen along Lake Superior from Founders Landing to South Beach Park, a vagrant Townsend’s solitaire from the Rockies, a late American wigeon, a harlequin duck from the Rockies and a summer tanager from the southern U.S. There were a number of birder
The Dark Side of Birding
A common loon readies to launch from Cupsuptic Lake, part of the Rangeley Lakes Heriteage Trust, on Saturday June 23, 2012 (Photo by Carl D. Walsh/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)
Avid birders are no longer all kindly septuagenarians bedecked in Tilly hats and multi-pocket vests, binoculars glued to their eyes. For some, birding has even become a competitive sport. At
Outside, Jessie Williamson reports on how birding has evolved with the advent of eBird, an online platform where birders can register to report sightings. The app has been instrumental in helping scientists “understand species distributions, population trends, migration pathways, and even habitat use,” but because it is used by humans who are not nearly as magnificent as birds, participation can have its downsides, including being publicly mocked and shamed for mis-identifying a species.