Collington Bird Group

By Anne Chase and Joe Howard

Collington is blessed with a large campus much of which is forest, wild and cultivated bushes, shrubs, a large open field, ponds, and streams. In other words, a unique parkland in a metropolitan area. The wildlife and especially bird life is abundant.

Early September 2020, Joe Howard suggested to Mike Burke that we should establish an informal “Bird Discussion Group” by e-mail. Mike, who is a bird expert, agreed and a new group was enthusiastically formed on the “Collington Discussion Group” with a membership now over 40 residents.  

(Photo by Bud Gardiner)

Mike and Anne Chase have collaborated on a survey asking members about their interests.  Following is a selected brief summary.  

  • Over four-fifths of the group expressed interest in (1) learning to identify birds (2) learning about bird behavior and (3) improving their understanding of the natural world.  
  • Backyard birders favored three items: (1) learn which plants birds love (2) learn what bird food attracts each species (3) learn how to deal with unwanted guests.
  • Most were interested in birding locations within 30 minutes of Collington, and in locations in the Delaware, Maryland, Virginia area.
  • Also of interest was information regarding birding websites, birding apps, and bird ID guides.

Stay tuned for future lectures, movies, campus bird walks and posts regarding bird facts and interesting sitings here at Collington.

To become a member please respond to this post.

Marion Show

contributed by David Montgomery

If the auditorium corridor is not in your usual traffic pattern these days, make a special point to walk down it. Marion Robbins has a show of her photographs on display. Of the total 18 pictures, 16 were taken around the Collington campus. Mostly close-ups, the show gets you close to nature. A noteworthy feature of these photos is that they were captured on Marion’s mobile phone. The quality of the show points out the importance of having a “good eye.” You do not need a professional single-lens reflex camera (SLR) if you know how and when to click the shutter of a more personal camera.. (You may be better off with a phone.) Marion’s show demonstrates that she is observant.

A hint on viewing pictures in the show: while the color is obvious, look particularly at the texture.