Birding Is for Every Body and Every Mind. Celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month with Birdability!
"Like so many others, my sense of wonder and curiosity took a back seat to survival, routine, and practicality as I grew older. It wasn't until I experienced a significant change in my health that I broke free from that trajectory, ultimately escaping the doldrums that had set in. Once I was forced to start over, slower than before, birding helped me recapture a sense of awe. It ignited a reevaluation of my priorities, and today serves as an ongoing reminder that I have control over my perspective, happiness, and connection to the world and community around me. Birding is not only essential to my mental health, it's a radical reminder of what matters in my life."
Jayme Boucher, Birdability Captain
For so many of us, birds offer a way to reconnect with ourselves, nature, and one another. That connection can be a lifeline, especially for people living with disabilities, chronic illness, trauma, or other health concerns.
At Birdability, we hear it all the time:
“Birding helped me through grief.”
“I found peace in the sound of a Carolina Wren.”
“Even when I can’t leave my bed, I can still watch the birds.”
Birding is more than a hobby, it’s a tool for wellness, a pathway to healing, and for many, a daily practice of care.
As part of Mental Health Awareness Month this May, we’re proud to highlight voices from the Birdability community and our collection of resources that center the mental health benefits of birding, especially for disabled birders. These 30 days of offerings, made possible with generous support from the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, are rooted in lived experience, scientific research, and the deep belief that everyone deserves access to the outdoors and wellness. The month will culminate with a live webinar that centers the ways that birds and the outdoors
Photo of an Eastern Bluebird perched on a wooden fence courtesy of Unsplash.
Focusing on mental health through birds and access to the outdoors is especially vital for people with disabilities (broadly defined to include physical, cognitive, sensory, emotional, mental health, and other chronic conditions) as well as for anyone who faces barriers to participation in outdoor spaces. Far too often, the healing and restorative benefits of nature are inaccessible due to physical inaccessibility, stigma, lack of representation, or systemic exclusion. For those navigating chronic pain or stress, trauma, or isolation, birding can offer a gentle entry point to connection, joy, and community. By centering access and inclusion in conversations about mental wellness, we not only affirm the value of disabled lives but also reimagine nature as a place of belonging for everyone, because everyone deserves the opportunity to find peace, purpose, and healing among the birds.
Image description: A screenshot of a virtual panel discussion on the mental health benefits of birding - there are five participants and an ASL Interpreter visible in a grid layout on Zoom.
Birding for Mental Health Video
We’re thrilled to share “Birding for Mental Health,” a recording of our Birdability Week 2024 Webinar with experts who share how birding supports emotional and mental well-being. Their work and stories are honest, complex, and hopeful, touching on grief, trauma, disability, joy, and connection. This webinar features Tammah Watts, Holly Merker, Ann Marie Geiger, and Sheridan Alford who contribute their experiences and knowledge about how the mental health benefits of birding may show up in the lives of folks with disabilities and health concerns - including the science and the spirit behind it - and how we can all discover practical ways to integrate this rewarding activity into daily life. This webinar is captioned, has ASL interpretation, and was supported by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation’s primary sponsorship of Birdability Week last year.
Watch it here:
Birding for Mental Health on YouTube
Image description: A picture of Ann Marie Geiger from the back using her power wheelchair to navigate a long wooden boardwalk through a field of green with a blue sky and fluffy clouds above.
Stories That Speak to Us
Through our blog, Captains and community members have shared deeply personal reflections about how birding has supported them during difficult times. For Cat Fribley, Birdability’s Executive Director, birding helped navigate the lifelong impacts of PTSD and Complex PTSD. For Ann Marie Geiger, it offered grounding when life felt overwhelming. Eric Clow, Tammah Watts, and Holly Merker have all written about birding as a form of mindfulness, creativity, and healing.
Explore these stories and writings:
Sharing the Joy and Adventure of Birdin with a Disability – Eric Clow
Introduction to Accessible Mindful Birding Webinar - BOP Webinar Series
These aren’t just individual stories—they are a collective call to reimagine what access to wellness and nature could mean for folks with disabilities and health concerns.
The Research Is Clear
Scientific studies back what many birders already know:
Seeing or hearing birds is linked to reduced symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress
Just a few minutes spent noticing birds can lead to longer-lasting positive moods
Birding encourages mindfulness, slowing down, and being present
Try a few moments of mindful birding today. Mindful birding is about slowing down, tuning in, and letting birds guide you back to the present moment. You don’t need to be an expert—just bring your curiosity. Start by finding a comfortable spot, either outside or near a window. Take a few deep breaths. Ask yourself: What do I hear? What do I see? What colors, shapes, or movements are catching my attention? You might notice the flit of a sparrow, the rustle of wings, or the steady rhythm of birdsong. If your thoughts wander (and they will), gently come back to the birds. Let their presence anchor you. This kind of mindful observation—free of pressure or expectation—can help ease anxiety, soothe overstimulation, and offer a quiet connection to something larger than yourself.
If you’d like to learn more about the research about the mental health benefits of birding, check out our guidance document at https://www.birdability.org/mentalhealthbenefits .
Image description: A Birdability Intern, Jordan, looking through binoculars at a bird in the tree in front of her with her site supervisor next to her.
Access Is Wellness
Birding doesn’t require expensive gear, physical stamina, or remote wilderness. It can happen from a porch, a city sidewalk, a hospital window, or an online livestream.
Thanks to resources like the Outdoors for Everyone campaign and the National Paralysis Resource Center from the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, more people are discovering ways to access the outdoors through adaptive tools, mobility supports, and community-led inclusion efforts. Their Adaptive Sports Booklet is a wonderful place to begin.
Together, we can make sure that birding—and the wellness it brings—is truly for every body and every mind.
You’re Not Alone
Mental health is a journey, and there is no one right way to navigate it. But wherever you are in yours, the birds will be there. Singing. Soaring. Nesting. Waiting to be noticed. Creating opportunities for community. Teaching us to slow down and breathe more deeply.
Start here:
Birding for Mental Health: Watch the video + explore our resources →
Image description: An illustration of a White-breasted Nuthatch sits on a computer monitor with the Birdability logo on the screen. The bird is singing out the wifi signal symbol and above all of that in curved letters is text that reads Birdability Outreach Program Webinar Series. There is a QR Code in the left bottom corner.
Join us for a Webinar to Learn More
Accessible Birding for Mental Health
Date + Time:
Wednesday, May 28, 2025
2:00 PM ET | 1:00 PM CT | 12:00 PM MT | 11:00 AM PT
Birding can offer calm in the chaos, joy in the everyday, and connection when we need it most. In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, join Birdability for a conversation exploring how birding supports mental health and wellness, especially for people with disabilities and other health concerns.
This session will weave together research on the mental health benefits of nature and birdsong, with personal stories from disabled birders who have experienced firsthand how accessible birding can help ease anxiety, foster mindfulness, and support overall well-being.
We’ll also explore tools, strategies, and inclusive approaches to help make the mental health benefits of birding more accessible to all.
Captioning and ASL interpretation will be provided. Register HERE and join us on May 28, 2025 as we wrap up Mental Health Awareness Month together.
