Birdability Week is a celebration of birders with disabilities and other health concerns, as well as an opportunity to share resources and ideas to help the birding community become accessible, inclusive, and welcoming to every body! It is an annual commemoration in October, drawing inspiration from other inclusive celebrations such as #BlackBirdersWeek, Latino Conservation Week and Let’s Go Birding Together.
Initially held in October 2020, Birdability Week debuted Birdability as a nonprofit organization. In the years since, we have celebrated inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility in the birding community and the outdoors. This year we want you and your local Audubon chapter, bird club, or nature center to get involved!
Live and Recorded Virtual Events
Birdability Captains Panel: Oct. 17, 6:00-7:00 PM Central Time
Join us for a panel discussion with representatives from our national volunteer network: the Birdability Captains. Panelists will share how their access challenge(s) affects their birding experience and offer recommendations to help others navigate outdoor spaces. The panel will then wrap up with a Q&A session! Therapeutic Field Sketching: Oct. 18, 5:00-6:00 PM Central Time
Birdability welcomes art instructor Jerelyn Abicca-Smestad, who will teach us the basics of field sketching using a model of a White-breasted Nuthatch. Throughout the lesson, Jerelyn will guide us through the therapeutic benefits of the arts and birding. No art experience is necessary!
Photo of a White-breasted Nuthatch by Matthew BellBirding Trivia Night: Oct. 19, 6:00-7:00 PM Central Time
Join us for a bird-themed trivia night and fundraiser with our friends from the American Birding Association, Nate Swick and Adrianna Nelson. They will be joined by live bird of prey ambassadors from the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center of Mystic, Connecticut at the end of the evening! This event will include five trivia categories and is donation optional. We invite you to join as contestants or viewers!Other Ways to Participate
Birdability wants to create a T-shirt with art made by someone from our community!
We invite you to submit a digital design to the contest by October 13. Our network of volunteers, the Birdability Captains, will then vote on three finalists. In the days following, our social media followers will vote on a winner! The winning design will be featured on a limited edition Birdability T-shirt. The theme of your submission is entirely up to you, but we suggest creating an art piece that is related to accessibility, birding, nature, or Birdability. T-shirt Art Contest
Accessible Birding from Around the World
In celebration of Birdability Week 2023, we are launching a digital series to showcase accessible birding experiences from around the world! Our hope is to host a collection of videos and written reflections on our YouTube channel and our website that feature accessible birding sites. We are looking for birders like you to take a video or write about an accessible location outside of the U.S. so we can feature it in the collection!
Images above by Matthew Bell: Middle-spotted Woodpecker, Spotted Antbird, Fiery-billed Aracari, and Green Thorntail
Birdability invites you to share your birding experience in relation to mental health. Perhaps birding is therapeutic for you or maybe you regularly practice intentional mindful birding. Use this opportunity to reflect on the psychological benefits you enjoy when birding. We will share your submissions on our webpage during Birdability Week in an effort to highlight the many ways people can benefit from enjoying birds.Birds, Mental Health, and Mindful Birding
Accessible BioBlitz Weekend
Friday, Oct. 20 to Sunday, Oct. 22
Calling all iNaturalist users, biologists, and nature lovers! Birdability invites you to particapte in our Birdability Week BioBlitz Project from Friday, October 20 to Sunday, October 22. Accessible birding spaces aren't just valuable to birds and birders, but to all creatures as well. Join us for this bioblitz project to highlight all the wildlife that can be enjoyed in inclusive outdoor spaces. Follow the link below to learn more about how you can participate!Hold an accessible, inclusive outing to celebrate Birdability Week 2023!
Who?
An individual, local Audubon chapter, young birders club chapter, a bird banding station, a group of friends, families… Anyone can host an accessible bird outing! These outings are designed intentionally for birders (and beginner birders) who experience an accessibility challenge as a result of a disability or other health concern. Read on to find out how easy it is, and check out the Birdability Guidance Documents at birdability.org to help as you plan your event.
What?
An accessible and inclusive birding outing. Check out Writing Bird Outing Event Descriptions when drafting the summary of your outing.
Where?
Deciding where to hold an accessible outing can be tricky if you’re not sure where to start. Read about Access Considerations for people with disabilities and other health concerns, then Contribute to the Birdability Map by submitting a Birdability Site Review for your location so that future visitors can learn important information ahead of time.
When?
Any time during October. Birdability Week is October 16-22, but we encourage you to host an accessible outing at any time that is convenient to you! Perhaps accessible, inclusive outings will then become a regular part of your field trip calendar!
Why?
Because birding is for everybody! But not everybody knows that. Creating outings that are designed for people who may need to move slower, take rests, or who need additional time to process what they are experiencing helps invites inclusivity to the birding community. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 1 in 4 Americans will experience some form of disability or health concern, so to us it just makes sense to include every body! We hope you’ll help us celebrate Birdability Week 2023 by hosting an accessible outing in your community!
How?
You may find it helpful to read the Steps to Implement Accessible Bird Outings. We encourage you to reach out to others in your community and invite them to your accessible outing – they may not have realized they could be a birder. There are lots of ideas in the above Guidance Document for different community groups you might try and connect with and invite on your outing.
More resources that may be useful:
Read some ideas for welcoming and inclusive birders (these suggestions are particularly important for bird outing leaders);
Learn about inclusive language use if you’re not sure where to start;
Check out some actions that inclusive organizations can take;
Sign up to receive the Birdability newsletter to keep up to date with new resources, events and more; and
Follow Birdability on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @birdability.
Don’t forget to share Birdability and Birdability Week in your newsletter and on social media – you’re always invited to link to the Birdability website or share or repost any of our social media posts. And keep amplifying and uplifting birders in your community who experience accessibility challenges and keep holding accessible outings. Together we can ensure that birding truly is for everybody and every body!
Accessible bird outing on a boardwalk by Karina Ornelas