Sunday, 29 March 2020:

I don’t know about you but I am really confused about what day it is. Because of the COVID-19 shutdown there’s no traffic anywhere, few cars are on the street, parking lots are empty and few pedestrians venture out before midday unless the weather is exceptionally good. Every day feels like Sunday.

Pittsburgh’s Strip District, the home of restaurants, international food markets and boutique retailers is normally packed before dawn on Saturday mornings. Yesterday Dave DiCello filmed the emptiness and posted on Twitter.

Saturday morning in the Strip… pic.twitter.com/IebVGPGTNJ

— Dave DiCello (@DaveDiCello) March 28, 2020

Happily, Sunday is my traditional day for hiking and birding so I’ve been outdoors every day to see migration ramping up including these Best Birds seen yesterday, 28 March 2020, on a Saturday that felt like Sunday: One Bonaparte’s gull and six female red-breasted mergansers at Duck Hollow, plus eight(!) fox sparrows at Schenley Park.

By the way these photos by Cris Hamilton, Bob Kroeger and Steve Gosser are not the individual birds I saw. See the captions for their locations.

(photos by Kate St. John, Cris Hamilton, Bob Kroeger, Steve Gosser)

During this stressful time of COVID-19, there’s a way to get some relief. Spending just 20 minutes connecting with nature lowers our stress levels and boosts our mental health.

Gardening, watching birds, walking and hiking are good ways to feel happier. We can easily maintain a safe social distance while birding. We can also connect with nature by watching our bird feeders.

The City of Pittsburgh is blessed with five large parks that provide a welcome release from stress — Schenley, Frick, Highland, Riverview and Emerald View.

My closest park is Schenley where I’m following the progress of spring.

Be Safe and Keep Others Safe in the parks from COVID-19:

The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy offers these safety tips for park users. I circled the 6-feet physical distance message which is difficult when the parks become crowded! Plan accordingly.

Check the CitiParks website or Facebook page for updates on the City of Pittsburgh parks.

p.s. Here’s the Parks Physical Distancing list typed out so you can search for it later.

• If you are exhibiting symptoms, don’t use the parks! (*)
• Wash your hands before and after using the parks.
• Stay 6 feet apart from other persons at all times.
• Many restrooms and facilities are closed so be prepared (hint, hint).
• Don’t touch handrails or playground equipment (By the way, the playgrounds are closed until further notice).
• (And need I say this?!?) No play dates, no group games, etc. If an activity involves getting close to each other, don’t do it.

(*) Sorry to end on a down note but if you have symptoms, you and your household are contagious. Isolate yourself & quarantine your household for 14 days. Here’s what to do.

Around the world the COVID-19 emergency is forcing rapid changes to human society. In Pennsylvania nearly everything is closed; crowds of any kind are prohibited. If we go out at all, we must stay away from others and maintain a safe social distance (six feet). We cannot afford to spread this illness. The number of infections blows up like a bomb.

Birds don’t need to care about the disease — they won’t catch it — but these photos can illustrate social distancing.

Above, two saffron finches display a proper distance.

Below, the pigeons are WRONG! The group is small but they’re too close.

The flock below is spawning a local epidemic. This crowd is NOT ALLOWED. It’s a petri dish of infection waiting to explode in 9-10 days.

In case you don’t believe this is necessary, here’s a message for us from Italy, sent on 15 March 2020. They know what happens if you don’t stay away from each other BEFORE the need is apparent. On 15 March: “It is believed that the US, England and France are 9-10 days behind Italy in COVID-19 progression.”

9-10 days is next week, 24 or 25 March 2020. That’s why things are closed!

It’s like living in a war zone, but there is hope. Italians are singing from their balconies to keep their spirits up and the Chinese are sending encouragement.

Stay strong. Stay well. Stay apart. Stay home.

This too shall pass.

(photos from Wikimedia Commons, videos from YouTube; click the captions or YouTube links to see the originals)

p.s. Birding alone in the woods is a safe social distance, but don’t count on finding a bathroom!

p.s. Here’s the latest coronavirus case map, US and world, from The Washington Post. Don’t get complacent about the numbers. Cases in New York state increased 70% in one day — Monday to Tuesday.

14 March 2020

Yesterday was an eventful day for coronavirus preparedness in the U.S. Officials declared national, state and local emergencies, events were canceled everywhere, and public venues including schools closed through at least the end of March. U.S. testing capacity is woefully behind but there’s hope now that a coronavirus relief bill is moving quickly through the Capitol.

Meanwhile, anxious people are panic hoarding. By mid-week there was a sudden rush on toilet paper and bottled water as if preparing for a hurricane.

The Germans have an apt word for this: Hamsterkauf = “hamster” hoards in its cheeks (hamstern) + “buy” (kaufen). The hoarding hamster above is totally stuffing his cheeks despite the overabundance of dandelion leaves.

I haven’t been to the grocery store for a few days so I asked my friends what hamsterkauf looks like in Pittsburgh.

On Thursday 12 March at 5:30p John English reported, “Stopped at the Greenfield Giant Eagle for food. Toilet paper shelves are wiped clean. Paper towels were also flying off the shelves. Bottled water was limited to 4 cases per person. (I guess people never heard of water filters.)”

On Thursday 12 March at 7pm, Terry Wiezorek photographed the frozen food section at the North Hills Trader Joe’s.

On Friday 13 March at 2:30p, Sue Bodziach saw this in the Cranberry Walmart toilet paper aisle.

And on Friday 13 March at 4p, Shannon Platt found little to buy in the toilet paper aisle at Target on McKnight Road.

Hoarding. Hoarding. Hamsterkauf.

Let’s calm down.

Read more in these two articles: When will hamsterkauf become an English word? and Hamsterkauf: Germans and Austrians are panic buying due to coronavirus.

(photos of hamsters from Wikimedia Commons, store photos by Terry Wiezorek, Sue Bodziach and Shannon Platt)