Watching the Catbird (and others) From the Catbird Seat

The following is a guest post by Mark F. Hall, a research specialist in the Library of Congress’s Researcher and Reference Services Division.

In this time of national disruption, many people are finding themselves with more time on their hands than normal and a desire to escape from the ordinary. The development of new or rekindling of old hobbies is one way people are occupying this extra time, and bird-watching, or birding, is one example of this. The arrival of spring has made this an ideal opportunity for watching the birds that one sees outside of windows, in yards, or on walks around the neighborhood or in local parks (practicing social distancing, of course). In fact, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology reported that in the first two weeks of April, the number of birding reports through their eBird site and use of their bird identification app was up by almost fifty percent.

While the numbers of people participating in birding and the number of electronic reports submitted are increasing, birding is anything but a new pastime, and the Library’s collections contain many works to interest and educate birders with available time.

Literary looks at the pleasures of observing birds and nature can be found in the following digitized Library books, among others:

Idylls of Bird Life: Bird and Nature Essays, by Bert G. Hochwalt.
Dayton, Ohio: A. F. Hochwalt Co., 1923.