Community Conversations for the 2026 Global Blind Birders Bird-a-Thon

Image Description: a graphic announces the Global 2nd Annual Blind Birder Bird-a-Thon 2026 Community Conversations. The background is deep blue with white star shapes scattered across. Three circular photos show blind and low-vision birders outdoors with white canes, smiling and birding together in groups. In one, three people pose arm-in-arm on a sunny path. Another shows a mixed group of birders standing under trees, listening attentively. The third depicts a diverse group walking along a paved trail in a green park.

The Blind Birder Bird-a-Thon reminds us that birding by ear is its own skill, art, and door to community. It is a world shaped by listening, shared learning, and the kind of connection that grows when people come together to practice new skills and celebrate the sounds of birds and nature. As we plan for the 2026 Global Blind Birders Bird-a-Thon, we are gathering each month for Blind Birder Community Conversations. These sessions are open, welcoming, and designed by and for blind and low vision birders, with sighted allies welcome to join us in support of a more accessible birding world.

Past participants have told us that the Bird-a-Thon is a space where they feel centered, valued, and part of something bigger. One participant shared that the Bird-a-Thon makes them feel “like my skills matter and my way of birding is finally the center of the story.” Another said that the event “gave me a community I did not know I was missing.” These reflections are at the heart of why we created the Community Conversations. They are a chance to deepen our skills, build confidence, and strengthen the community that makes this event so powerful.

This year’s series began on November 18, 2025, with Mnemonics and Birding by Ear with longtime birder, advocate, and Birdability Captain Jerry Berrier. The recording is available for anyone who could not join live. Participants learned playful ways to remember bird sounds and discovered how simple phrases can unlock entire soundscapes. It was a session filled with laughter, new tools, and many moments of recognition. As one participant wrote after the 2025 Bird-a-Thon, “Listening lets me feel connected to a world that is always moving, always changing. It reminds me that I belong in it.”

Image description: A person with light skin and long brown hair smiles at the camera while standing on a rocky coastal cliffside. She wears glasses with pink frames, a black hooded jacket, and a colorful knit strap across their chest from a backpack. Behind them, steep cliffs covered in moss and lichen drop down to the ocean, with gray water stretching out toward the horizon under an overcast sky. Small seabirds fly in the distance, and the landscape feels windswept, rugged, and full of wild energy.

On December 9, 2025, we will welcome Alli Smith from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for a session on Merlin Identification. The Merlin Bird ID app has introduced millions of people to the voices of birds. In this conversation, we will explore how Merlin identifies sound, how blind and low vision birders are shaping the data that makes it work, and why technology can be such a powerful access tool. A past participant said that apps like Merlin “opened doors I thought would always be closed,” and we are thrilled to offer a deeper look behind the scenes.

Image description: Jerry Berrier stands outdoors on a sunny day beside a tall, dense evergreen shrub. He is smiling and wearing a bright blue jacket over a blue T-shirt with a white bird graphic and braille across the chest. He also wears jeans, dark sunglasses, and a knit hat with a small embroidered logo. One hand rests lightly against the shrub’s branches and the other holds a white cane. The background includes soft light, bare early spring or late fall trees, and the edge of a grassy area, perhaps a cemetery.

January 20, 2026, will bring another session with Jerry Berrier, this time focused on using equipment and apps to record bird sounds. This is one of our most requested topics. We will talk about simple smartphone tools, more advanced recorders, file organization strategies, and the joy of capturing a soundscape you can return to again and again. One birder told us that recording sounds lets them keep a moment of joy for the longer term and Jerry will help participants explore that possibility.

On February 3, 2026, we will shift into the pleasures of full soundscapes with naturalist and author John Kricher. John will guide us through the sensory richness of listening to birds in context, noticing the layers and patterns that shape the experience. Participants often tell us that birding by ear is not just about identification, but also deeply about joy and pleasure.

March 10th of 2026 will bring a conversation with Scott Widensaul on Living on the Wind. Migration is both a mystery and a miracle, a story carried across thousands of miles. Scott will share how birds navigate these extraordinary journeys and why understanding migration by ear can be such a moving experience. Birders told us during last year’s Bird-a-Thon that learning more about migration helped them “hear the world with new attention.”

We will close the spring series with our April 14 Blind Birder Bird-a-Thon Info Session. This gathering is created by and for blind and low vision birders and is the perfect place to learn how the event works, explore accessible strategies for birding by ear, and connect with others who are preparing for the global celebration. Whether you have participated before or are joining for the first time, you will find a warm welcome and practical guidance. As another participant put it, “The Bird a Thon gave me a reason to step outside, listen without apology, and feel part of a community that understands the power of sound.”

All sessions begin at 7:00 P.M. Eastern with recordings available for all registrants. You are invited to join every conversation or to attend only the ones that speak to you. New birders, experienced birders, and everyone in between are welcome. The only requirement is curiosity and a desire for community.

The Blind Birder Community Conversations are one way we prepare for the 2nd Annual Global Blind Birders Bird-a-Thon, but they are also something more. They are a reminder that birding can be a shared practice of attention, care, and connection. As we move toward May 2026, we hope these gatherings help you feel supported in your learning and grounded in a community that values all bodies, all minds, and all birders!

You can register for any session through our website or directly at this link. We are grateful to every participant whose reflections have helped shape this series and we hope you will join us.