NY Times on Birds and Birdwatching during the pandemic

I noticed the New York Times had not one but two pieces on COVID-19 and birdwatching yesterday.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/29/science/bird-watching-coronavirus.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/29/opinion/coronavirus-lockdowns-birds-nature.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

Monitoring the effects of the global changes in human behavior caused by the pandemic is exactly the kind of thing that iNat data is good for.

From my perch in Los Angeles, the decrease in traffic, noise pollution and air pollution has been dramatic. But I can’t say I’m seeing any change in wildlife personally. I do hope this somehow leads to a quieter and greener city (doubtful I suppose but we can hope).

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I too am in Los Angeles and it’s true the noise levels have decreased though beginning to pick up in the last couple of weeks. I am hopeful but doubtful. I definitely think people have been paying more attention to nature during the shutdown. I’m hoping it continues as things start return to normal. But human patterns are difficult to change. I do think birds seem more vocal since the shutdown but perhaps that’s because we can hear them better. I also notice on my local nextdoor app, more people have been expressing interest in the nature around them.

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That’s cool people are more interested in nature.

I do think a lot of the anecdotal reports of more birds is just people being able to hear them better like you said.

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