Bird Watching: Good for your Covid Soul
By Cathy Vaughan
[The following article was posted in the May 2021 issue of Chebucto News]
It’s in our Canadian DNA to enjoy, revere and protect nature. The COVID-19 pandemic has given us a pivotal-pause to reassess our shifting lives and identify what is truly important to us.
Record numbers of folks are taking on unique hobbies, changing their fitness activities, embracing unique learning opportunities and appreciating the natural habitat in their own backyards.
What do we see and hear in our own backyards? Birds.
“Birding is really taking off. It’s a huge trend,” according to Kyla Makela with Bird Studies Canada, a national charity for bird research, citizen science and conservation in Canada. Bird watching is easy to do while you are working or studying at home during the COVID pandemic. You don’t have to go very far. Just look for birds in your backyard, car park or treed spaces in your neighbourhood. You will probably see sparrows, hawks and doves.
The Williams Lake Conservation Company (WLCC) is also interested in the birds and trees of the Spryfield, Backlands area. WLCC has applied to HRM for community funding to work with the Urban Farm Museum Society of Spryfield and the Backlands Coalition to collect data on birds in the area.
“Sparrows Hawks and Doves” is a bird watching, data-collecting inventory. WLCC is proposing this inventory of birds in the Backlands as an integral part of their stewardship of Williams Lake, its watershed and the Backlands.
The Urban Farm Museum Society of Spryfield is hosting a newly formed bird watching group that will participate in the project. The Backlands Coalition is also committed to the preservation of the Backlands as key habitat for wild species such as nesting and migrating birds in the greater Spryfield area.
WLCC will engage a local, professional bird expert, Fulton Lavender, to conduct a survey of nesting and migratory birds in the Purcell’s Cove Backlands. The Backlands stretch from Williams Lake Road south to Powers Pond in Herring Cove. The survey would begin with spring migration this April and cover all four seasons of birding activities. The published results would be accessible, useful and engaging for local families, schools, organizations and birding clubs.
The “Sparrows Hawks and Doves” project would chronicle concrete, current and reliable data, provide accessible public information on our local birds, and bring attention to some of the rich natural spaces we have in Spryfield for enjoying the hobby of bird watching in our community.
Field trips, led by Mr. Lavender as he conducts his surveys, would include volunteers from the community interested in becoming citizen-scientists and learning about identification and classification of birds from an expert. WLCC would share bird guides and trail maps with novice and seasoned bird enthusiasts to support this engaging hobby.
“We want to attract more Spryfield residents to enjoy watching birds and being out in nature. With the restrictions of Covid and the close proximity of the Herring Cove coastal trail, Shaw Wilderness Park, Williams Lake and the Purcell’s Cove Backlands in Spryfield, it is really an easy way to interest folks in this enjoyable hobby,” says Martha Leary of WLCC and local bird enthusiast.
The CBC news reported on a study published in the Journal of Science (2019) that found an overall 29% decline in the bird population in North America since 1970. Leary says “this shocking situation is unfortunately reflected in the decline in bird populations in Nova Scotia. Some of the biggest losses were among the common bird species such as sparrows and warblers. That’s why this project is so timely and important.”
Birds are critical for biodiversity as they control pests, spread seeds, pollinate plants, clean up carcasses, protect wetlands as well as inspire, calm and rejuvenate us. Environmental citizen-action groups are advocating with government levels to take action on these important providers of biodiversity before any more bird populations disappear.
“During this pandemic we’ve realized the importance of the outdoors and nature to our physical and mental well-being. People trying to cope with stress, anxiety and restrictions are increasingly finding relief in nature. Exploring our nature reserves, trails, forests and lakes has a restorative effect on our mental health. As we nurture our own wellness, we must also invest in nature to nurture it,” states Kelly Cain, newly appointed Vice-President of Nature Conservancy of Canada in the Atlantic Provinces (Chronicle Herald, Feb.25, 2021 article.)
Spryfield is close to many parks, forests, seashores and natural settings. A stroll through York Redoubt, The Dingle, Graves-Oakley Park, MacIntosh Run, Kidston Lake, Shaw Wilderness Park or the Long Lake trails would be a natural place to get involved in this fascinating, life-long hobby.
Useful websites.
www.nsbirdsociety.ca
www.speciesatrisk.ca
www.natureconservancy.ca
www.cbc.ca/cbcdocspov/espisodes/rare-bird-alert
www.cbc.ca/news/technology/bird-population-decline-1.5288454