Spotlight on Cassandra Dean: Empowering Birding for All Abilities

In the world of birding, accessibility isn't always a given. Cassandra Dean experienced that firsthand and it compelled her to take action. Thanks to passionate individuals like Cassandra Dean, the landscape of inclusive and accessible birding is changing. As a Birdability Captain, Cassandra is on a mission to ensure that everyone, regardless of ability, can enjoy the wonders of birding and nature.

Cat Fribley joined us as Birdability’s Executive Director last fall and we asked her to tell us about herself!

Introduction to Birding: When my college roommate pointed out a bird on a tree as we walked to class on an autumn day in 1990, I didn't anticipate that this moment would mark the beginning of something wonderful. While I can't pinpoint whether my spark bird was a red-bellied woodpecker or a yellow-shafted flicker, I can unequivocally say that it was a woodpecker, and it ignited a lifelong love of birds.

Last year, my husband Kyle suffered a massive stroke. In an instant, our lives changed. He became permanently disabled and would need rigorous speech, occupational, and physical therapy, which he continues to this day.

One year later, his hard work at rehabilitation has allowed us to live independently and get back to our lives and marriage – albeit things look a lot different than before.

Kyle isn’t a birder – it is my sole endeavor – but one day he surprised me and said, “I’d like to go birding with you this weekend.” He must have known I was aching to get out!

Christmas Bird Counts (CBCs) are an annual community science project, going on 123 years, in which teams of birders collect data on winter birds. The National Audubon Society organizes this event as an effort to track bird population trends and the data is valuable to biologists and conservation!

Over the past few years, Birdability has encouraged birders to organize CBCs that are accessible to disabled birders. Historically, birders who experience access challenges were often unable to participate in the Christmas Bird Count, but we are working to create opportunities for these folks to be included in their local CBCs.

When I was invited to be a part of Birdability’s Team Nuthatch at the World Series of Birding, so much of this seemed impossible. How was I going to drive one of the most difficult routes in the country, from Connecticut, around the sprawl of New York City, to southern New Jersey? How could I spend a weekend with a team made up of five people I’d never met in person? How would I deal with the uncertainty of birding at a new place during a large event I was unfamiliar with?

But I said yes, anyway.

Interpretive signs can be wonderful ways to learn about and engage with a birding location you’re visiting… if you can access them. Here are some examples of interpretive signs we love (because they’re accessible!) and ones that could use some improvement.

At eight years old I took my first flight lesson. I knew flying was what I was going to do the rest of my life. I was mystified beyond belief. How was I just suspended in the air? My fascination with birds had begun, but I had not realized that. Looking down from the window of the plane, over Atlanta, I could see my whole life: where I lived, where I was born. Places that I had seen so many times, but never from this perspective.

Last week, Birdability founder Virginia Rose and Birdability Coordinator Freya McGregor were birding in Southern California. Here’s a wrap up of why the San Diego Bird Festival, held by San Diego Audubon Society, was a success from Birdability’s perspective. It boils down to the fact that San Diego Audubon, and the festival coordinator Jen Hajj in particular, are wonderful allies.

Day-to-day life as an autistic person can be unpredictable.  I often feel unbalanced.  Birds connect me to the world.  Yet, when I’m birding, everything holding me down feels less weighty, like being buoyant in salt water.  The connection provides relief from isolation, and the weightlessness quiets anxiety and uncertainty. I’m both grounded and untethered in a fleeting moment of bird-human-nature encounter.

There has been speculation on social media, via email, and in presentations. So, to celebrate one year of Birdability becoming a non-profit, it’s time to get to the bottom of this burning question. Why is a White-breasted Nuthatch Birdability’s logo?

My love of bird watching has always been paired with my desire to illustrate them. But behind my love of birds was always the pestering problem of my color blindness. As a whole, "color blindness" is a pretty vague term to a not uncommon condition. Worldwide about 7% of men and .05% of women have some form of colorblindness. Simply put it's "it's the inability to distinguish certain colors."

Braille is super cool. A tactile code (not a language of it’s own), it is used to write languages from English to Arabic so people who are blind or have low vision can read. We love seeing braille used labelling diagrams on interpretive signs; labelling trail maps; an in booklets visitors to natures centers and parks can borrow, so braille readers can access the same information on interpretive signs that sighted visitors can.

Birding has been central to my sanity. Whenever I felt overwhelmed or frustrated, I made the time to go birding. Unfortunately, even this relaxing activity is not immune to my struggles with hearing loss. When I am birding in a group I am met with phrases like, "Get your ears checked." Or, "Are you stupid? Why can't you understand me?" when I ask someone to repeat themselves. I find these events to be more frustrating than they are worth, so I rarely interact with other birders.

Wow! What a blast. Birdability Week 2021 was even more exciting and empowering than our first Birdability Week last year. From amplifying the experiences of birders with access challenges, to helping more folks feel like part of the birding community; from sharing about the features of a truly accessible trail, to learning important lessons on respectful collaboration. We even continued to redefine birding! There were a lot of wonderful learning opportunities, too, some recorded here in case they’re of value to you, too.

My brother Gidon is three and a half years older than me. He started birding just before I did - we were both under 10. Thanks to his infectious enthusiasm about wildlife and birding, my childhood growing up in Jerusalem was all outdoors. In 2015 Gidon was diagnosed with a horrible, terminal neurodegenerative disease, ALS. (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.) His disease develops in a medium, steady pace. For Birdability Week, organized by Birdability, I want to share here the inspiring story of my brother Gidon.

There are so many ways to enjoy wild birds, and we want to encourage every body to get involved! Birding by looking out your window or enjoying birds from you backyard is a wonderful way to get involved. Some folks like making things; some folks are kids! During Birdability Week 2021, two of our Birdability Captains created a bird-related craft activity. Even better, both of the activities were designed to help welcome birds to your backyard and keep them safe. Enjoy!

Organizing a Big Sit on the occasion of Mass Audubon’s Bird-a-thon this year was an incredible learning experience for me. It turns out that being intentionally inclusive is even more rewarding than I’d thought it could be! I thought it would be great to reflect on the lessons I learned (and the mistakes that I made) this spring so that your stationary accessible birding event can be the best possible version of itself.

Thank you for planning to hold an accessible, inclusive bird outing! Advertising a bird outing simply as “accessible” does not provide nearly the amount of detail that most people with disabilities and other health concerns need to decide if that’s an event they could attend. Here are two examples of event descriptions which include this kind of detailed information. You’re welcome to copy their formats when you write yours!

“What brings you in today?” the doctor asked as she sat in a chair next to mine. She looked about my age — mid-forties — but unlike me, she didn’t slouch or have dark bags under her eyes. Opening her laptop, she waited for me to begin.

I inhaled, trying to hold back the tears starting to choke at my throat. But the words tumbled out: I’m exhausted all the time, my heart is going crazy, beating hard in my chest then not beating at all, I have arthritis in my wrists, I get cold and hot but not like a fever, I can’t think straight or remember anything, and when I leave my house I feel like I’m having a panic attack!

Everybody has the right to feel safe in nature. But, like the physical accessibility of a birding location, there are many factors that can affect any one person’s feeling of safety and security when they’re outside. Physical safety concerns (like roots, rocks or dogs off leash), and social and cultural safety concerns can impact someone’s ability to go birding. Remember: everybody has different experiences, and just because you feel safe doesn’t mean everybody else will too.