Birdability Week 2026 - Bird Where You Are!

Image description: A circular Birdability Week 2026 logo on a white background. Around the outer ring, in dark teal, the words "BIRDABILITY" curve across the top and "WEEK 2026" curve along the bottom. Small teal dots separate the text on either side. At the center is a watercolor-style illustration of a White-breasted Nuthatch perched headfirst on a twig, reflecting the species' distinctive habit of climbing down trees. The bird has blue-gray upperparts, warm buff underparts, a white face and throat, and a black cap. The twig extends beyond the bird, emphasizing its unique posture. Teal curved lines inside the circle echo the shape of the outer ring and frame the bird.

July is Disability Pride Month, a time to celebrate disability as a natural and valuable part of human diversity. It is also a time to recognize the ongoing work of removing barriers so that everyone has the opportunity to participate fully in community life. Every Disability Pride Month, I'm reminded that one of the most powerful things we can do is make space for people to experience the things they love in ways that work for them.

Birding has the power to connect us to nature, to one another, and to ourselves. But for many people with disabilities and other health concerns, enjoying birds often requires creativity, adaptation, and communities that are willing to rethink long-held assumptions about what birding "should" look like and how our outdoor spaces are designed.

That is why we are so excited to introduce this year's Birdability Week theme.

Birdability Week 2026 - October 19 through 25, 2026

Bird Where You Are

Bird Where You Are means watching birds from your kitchen window. Listening from your favorite park bench. Exploring an accessible trail. Birding from your car. Spending time on your porch or balcony. Sitting outside during a lunch break. Noticing the birds from bed during a health flare. Birding in a group or by yourself. Loving the common birds just as much as the rarities.

It also means birding at your own pace, in your own way, and at your own level of experience.

Because if you enjoy wild birds in any way, you are a birder. And you belong here.

For Birdability Week 2026, we are celebrating the many ways people connect with birds and nature while inviting even more people to discover that there is a place for them in the birding community.

Help Make Birdability Week Happen

Birdability Week is powered by people who believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to experience the joy of birds and the birding community.

There are many ways you can help.

Host an accessible and inclusive event

If you are planning an intentionally accessible and inclusive birding event anytime during October 2026, we would love to include it on the Birdability Week calendar. You can submit your event herefor inclusion on our Birdability Week Events Map on the website!

Over the coming weeks, we will also be sharing even more practical resources to help organizers, including our already available Essential Elements of an Accessible and Inclusive In-Person Bird Outing or Event, so that planning an accessible event feels achievable for everyone!

Become a Birdability Week sponsor

Businesses, organizations, and individuals can also support Birdability Week through sponsorship. We have informationand a form for sponsors available to help you think through how best to support our work.

Sponsorships help make our programming free and accessible by supporting services like live captioning and ASL interpretation, while also helping us amplify the voices and leadership of disabled birders throughout the week.

If your organization shares our commitment to accessibility, inclusion, and belonging, we would love to partner with you.

The Offbeat Photo and Video Contest Opens August 1st

One of our favorite Birdability Week traditions is back.

The Birdability Week Offbeat Photo and Video Contest opens on August 1st, and you have until September 20th to enter.

Whether you capture a perfectly timed funny expression, an awkward fledgling, an unexpected backyard visitor, or a memorable moment from your phone, your camera lens, or your feeder camera, we cannot wait to celebrate the beauty, humor, and joy of birds through your unique perspective.

Now is the perfect time to start looking through your photos and videos, or to keep your camera or phone ready for your next birding adventure.

Find out more here and enter at this link.

Join Us

Disability Pride Month reminds us that disability is not something to overcome before participating in the things we love. Instead, it challenges all of us to build communities where everyone can participate, contribute, and belong. That is exactly what Birdability Week is about.

We hope you will join us this October by hosting an event, attending one, becoming a sponsor, entering the Offbeat Photo and Video Contest, or joining us for virtual or IRL events during the week of October 19-25, 2026.

Watch for even more opportunities to get involved in the weeks ahead!