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Birdwatching Soars Amid COVID-19 as Americans Head Outdoors

Associated Press

   Conner Brown, a law student at Stanford University, spent the early
   days of the pandemic following his brother as he spotted and collected
   characters in the Pokemon Go mobile game.

   Then, Brown noticed the birds.

   "I thought, 'Why don't I take up birding?' It's like real-life Pokemon
   Go. It's super addicting because you can start logging them and you get
   a little collection. It's really cool," said Brown, 25. He paused, then
   added, "They should really game-ify it."

   Brown, who's living near Annapolis, Maryland, can now identify 30
   different bird species. He can recognize the calls of the brown-headed
   cowbird and cardinal and tell male birds from females. He bought
   special binoculars that attach to his iPhone camera, downloaded bird
   identification and bird-logging apps, and is giving birding advice on
   Twitter.

   'A reason to get out of the house'

   "The world of birds is so much more vibrant and active than I'd ever
   realized, and once I paid attention, it just hit me in the face," Brown
   said. "It's given me a reason to get out of the house. It's motivated
   me."

   With coronavirus restrictions dragging on, interest in birdwatching has
   soared as bored Americans notice a fascinating world just outside their
   windows. Downloads of popular bird identification apps have spiked, and
   preliminary numbers show sales of bird feeders, nesting boxes and
   birdseed have jumped even as demand for other nonessential goods
   plummets.