Once the June solstice is passed fall begins for shorebirds. In the breeding areas of the northern tundra these long-distance migrants begin to feel the urge to migrate south. By the end of July and the first two weeks of August adult shorebirds are flying south and can be expected to stop along Washington waterways to rest and refuel.
As I write this, the number of people with COVID vaccinations is growing across the country, COVID cases are decreasing, and the CDC is relaxing their national masking guidelines. All are signs that make me hopeful that perhaps we’ll soon be emerging from the pandemic to a “new normal” life in which we can meet face to face again.
President Joe Biden has proposed a multi-trillion-dollar funding bill with strategies to control climate change at its center. The U. S. House of Representatives has passed the bill and the Senate has begun discussion of the large funding package. President Biden is hoping it will get to his desk for his signature within a few months.
