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Ahead Of The Backyard Bird Count, Has The Coronavirus Pandemic Affected the Region's Birds?

By Kabir Bhatia

Published February 12, 2021 at 4:41 PM EST

Jim Tomko, head of the Audubon Society of Greater Cleveland, said anyone can participate in the count, which runs Feb. 12-15. [Kabir Bhatia / WKSU] — Jim Tomko, head of the Audubon Society of Greater Cleveland, says anyone can participate in the count, which runs Feb. 12-15.

This year’s annual Audubon Society three-day bird count begins Friday, and the head of the society’s Greater Cleveland branch said the coronavirus pandemic seems to be giving people a renewed appreciation of nature.

Jim Tomko has been seeing more people than usual hitting the region’s parks and trails over the past year. And with so many people working from home, he said, it’s the perfect time to participate in the bird count.

“They’re actually realizing that there is wildlife in their own backyard. I've gotten calls that said, 'Did you know there are turkeys in my neighborhood?; I saw bald eagle fly overhead,’ because they’re home and they’re seeing this. Otherwise, they're at work in their office, and it all goes by them," Tomko said.

“When people are enjoying the wildlife, when it comes time to make decisions to help protect it, they'll say, ‘Oh yeah; I had a fox in my backyard. I never knew there were foxes back there. I'm going to support this in some way or another.’ I think it will have a lot of benefits, both financial and [for] people having an interest in standing up for wildlife that can't stand up for themselves,” he continued.

Tomko also said decreased auto emissions during the pandemic may have affected the region’s wildlife. The Ohio Turnpike, for example, reported an 11 percent decrease in revenue for 2020, meaning far fewer cars were on the road. But Tomko said it’s too soon to know for sure how much impact that has had on birds.

Information on participating in the bird count is available from its sponsors, the Cornell Lab of Orinthology and the Audubon Society and a live map of the results is available from eBird, the Cornell Lab's birding app and website.