Especially in light of recent rare birds being reported, there are some important points to keep in mind when birding during the current COVID-19 pandemic.
1. This is a great time to be working on your yard list. If you do any birding away from home, choose spots where you are unlikely to encounter others or where you know you can avoid close contact with others sharing those spaces. 2. Bird alone or with those you live with. Traveling in a vehicle with others with whom you are not in constant contact might be at reduced risk if you are all feeling well, but it is not without risk (see #4). 3. If, while birding, you come upon a group of people looking at a good bird, try to bird from your vehicle. If you must get out, stand away from everyone else. If you need to be near a certain spot to see a bird, take turns and give each other a lot of space. If the group is large, see it and leave immediately as a consideration for others. This is not a time for socializing in person. 4. Keep in mind that you yourself might already have the virus. You may be in the earliest stages of the disease, or just asymptomatic. But if you have the virus, you can pass it along to others. For all the MOU-net list serve administrators who hope you stay safe and healthy, Paul Paul Budde pbu...@earthlink.net ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
