The Great Downtown Bird Count
June 16, 2011, 16:55 pm Posted by needlearts
Each year, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Audubon Society sponsor the Great Backyard Bird Count, when bird enthusiasts spend a specified amount of time observing birds in a specified location—a backyard, a trail, a bird sanctuary—or so on. To continue the celebration of our Blogiversary, I thought I’d conduct my own little bird count in downtown Asheville. Here’s what I saw today from 1 to 2:30 pm as I walked a lazy circle through the city.
First up, real birds (a pair of house finches) right outside on Broadway; up the block, a pair of pigeons from the current show at the Satellite Gallery and lots of fun bird stuff at LOFT; a curious owl from the Kress Emporium on Patton Ave.; the signage at Spiritex at the corner of Haywood and College Streets; an intriguing cardinal and some origami cranes from Origami Ink on Haywood; down to Lexington Ave., a fabric birdie in the window at News of the Blue Sky, Big Bird’s wacky cousin at the Costume Shoppe, some graffiti at the side of Bobo Gallery, and a t-shirt at We Eco; rounding the corner to head back to Broadway is this mural at the entrance to Chicken Alley; and then back home to our offices. If you want to follow my route, check out the map of downtown. How many birds have you seen today? Tell me.
