Tuesday, May 26, 2020

COVID DECISIONS

     The prominent  news lately is "opening up " concerning Covid 19. The opinions are sharply divided. Opening up means having to live by a strict set of rules. However, watching things on the weekend shows that many people are not willing to live by any guidelines. The news showed parks and beaches that were crowded on the weekend.

    I'm of the opinion that we should wait for  things to begin to open up. If we fail in opening up, I think the cost will be tremendous. We will have to close down for a long period of time again. Costs would be added to what we have already spent to fight the virus. 

   So here's my situation. I lead a bird watching group. Spring is an excellent time for birdwatchers with migration and breeding season. We've been missing this excellent time for bird watching.

    So what should I do? Our small city of 100000 has had 37 covid cases. One is still active and no one has died. It's easy to think that there is little risk out there. But we don't know how many cases are out there that we don't know about.
We are allowed groups up to 50 if spaced by 2 meters.

    We decided to not open up our bird watching season. We decided that we couldn't maintain a constant 2 meter distance. Also half of our birders are in the senior classification and one in the eighties (me) . Many times there are six heads close together looking at photos or bird apps. Try getting birders to not have their heads together. Good luck.

    It was a hard decision to make as the activity is outside . However , I would find it tough to take if one if the birders caught the virus from being out birding.


Time for a group photo
Where are all the other birders?
See , heads together


Chickadees come to the hand
Otis the owl who is used for educational purposes.

47 comments:

  1. There is no reason why you can't all go on your own, or with just one other person, teaming up with a partner. Groups are fun but not essential.

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    1. We certainly are going out alone and then report sightings and photos to our facebook page.

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  2. Yes, that was a hard call to make. Maybe in a month you could rethink it, even though it will be summer by then. I love the owl.

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    1. I hate to be pessimistic but I think we're in this for a long time.

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  3. Hi Red, I live in Sylvan and the lake front was crowded on the weekend. It appears that few were following the rules. I avoided the area. Otis or Olive the owl is coming to my place on Saturday! The Medicine River Wildlife Centre is doing front yard visits and I booked one! I am excited!

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    1. I'll bet half the beggars in Sylvan on the weekend were from Calgary.

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  4. A good decision I am sure. Maybe a smaller group of three or four people could make a go of it. I saw some horrible photos of crowds this past weekend. Scary for sure :(

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    1. We are a lose knit group and we could never get away with that one!

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  5. I'm the same, Red - better safe than sorry. But it's hard for older seniors especially; it's sad that they have this worry in their last remaining years.

    My craft group is in the process of brainstorming how to have a virtual craft sale this fall. I know we won't be having the usual kind with two hundred plus customers milling around.

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    1. We are going to have to find different ways of doing things. Birders go out hee and then report sightings and photos on our facebook page.

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  6. It’s a very iffy time. Hawaii has had 0 infections in the last three days, but I still don’t feel safe. I don’t know if enough people are being tested or if there are asymptomatic people walking around.

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    1. You're right about safety. we don't know how many people are walking around with symptoms.

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  7. There are so many difficult decisions to make these days. I understand the difficulty of keeping a large number of people spaced apart plus when you are so far apart it can be hard to hear each other talking. Like Far Side suggested, maybe occasional smaller groups following strict rules? Or everyone could go out on their own and then you could all meet up online on Zoom or something like that and discuss what you saw. I know your birding group is important to you and it is sad to see so many happy times not happen due to the virus.

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    1. We report sightings and photos to our facebook page.

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  8. It is a tough decision but I like Linda's suggestion. People can go out in teams of 2.

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  9. That is a sad decision you had to make. These ar not pleasent times for everyone. All things you like to do are not possible anymore. Same here, no trips to Amsterdam or abroad, no visits to family and friends, just living in the home surroundings. I feel realy old now. with the limitations.

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    1. I'm not an obsessed birder but it is nice to get out.

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  10. We have suspended all group birding, nature walks etc. It would be impossible to maintain social distancing, and after years of advocating car pooling to minimize the environmental footprint, we would have to resume each person or couple using their own vehicle. Perhaps by fall things will have improved. If not I am sure that solo birding, or just with my wife, will continue to do perfectly well.

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    1. We have had more species reported by single birders! Maybe they go more often or for longer times.

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  11. Hello, it is a good decision, usually the birders are closer together just pointing out a bird. I agree with the comment above maybe 3-4 people and each wearing a mask. I missed most of the spring migration, it is too late now. Take care and have a great day!

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    1. Don't worry. sooner or later we will get back out. I don't want to be in too much of a rush.

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  12. This was a difficult decision, I'm sure.

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    1. Well, not really. It's pretty obvious what a person has to do. I wouldn't go out so why would others want to go out?

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  13. I think you are making the right decision, mostly because of the vulnerability of the group's members. But it is hard, I know. We all want to return to normal, but that will look very different when it comes. :-(

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    1. I think you're right that things will be done differently after this is over.

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  14. You're making the smart move, for now. Let's hope things get better as the summer progresses..

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    1. I hope it gets better but I think the odds are good for another round of flu.

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  15. That was a really hard to decision to make, but I think you made the right one. I hope you keep on bird watching out there, maybe with one other person.

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    1. There's been lots of bird watching and reported to our facebook page.

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  16. Thanks Red, that's all I can say, thanks for making the hard decision.

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    1. I don't find it that hard. It's just the right thing to do and this comes from a risk taker!

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  17. I don't see that you have much choice sadly. You're doing the right thing. Our bird watching group is still going out - my wife and me!

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    1. Why don't you report sightings and photos to our facebook page?

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  18. I think given the age of many of your participants, you've made a wise decision.

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    1. Yes, at least half are in the senior category.

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  19. Cooler heads will prevail, or at least stay away from Covid-19 situations.

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    1. I hate to be a pessimist but I think we are in this for a long time.

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  20. Our book club wants to meet to discuss the book we read in March. One of our members doesn’t have a computer and so Zoom is out as an option. It would be nice to meet outdoors but shouting would be frustrating especially if it was windy. We’ve had high winds this year.

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    1. I've done a couple of meetings on zoom and it works better than I thought it would.

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  21. Yes, I'd hate to waste all the time I've stayed in and then have to do it over again.

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  22. I admire you for making the decision to wait. It's all crazy right now. I miss seeing my daughters. Hopefully, things will get back to normal, soon.

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  23. I think it's a very good decision. We really need to be careful right now. No one likes what's going on but we need to work together to protect the most vulnerable.

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  24. It's so hard to know what is acceptable risk and what is not but I guess most birders will be okay if they miss the season or experience it in a different way

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