Volunteer Captain Spotlight: Bev Gatliff

Image description: Bev sitting on her bright red rollator walker on a dirt trail and using her new monopod/binocular set up for birding.

When Bev Gatliff moved from Florida to California in 2017, she brought with her a lifelong love of birds. What she did not know yet was that Birdability would help reconnect her to birding, community, and joy during a time when changing mobility and health needs had begun to reshape her life.

Today, Bev is one of the driving forces behind accessible birding efforts with Monterey Audubon Society, helping to build Birdability outings, mindful bird walks, senior center programming, and growing opportunities for birding by ear in Monterey County.

Her story is one of persistence, creativity, and community building. It is also a reminder that access grows through relationships, thoughtful planning, honest communication, and people who care deeply about making sure others belong.

Finding Birdability

Before moving to California, Bev had been deeply involved in birding communities and Audubon chapters throughout Florida. She loved birding festivals, bus trips, and outings. But as mobility challenges increased, she found herself looking at field trip descriptions and realizing many no longer felt possible for her.

“I would look at it every month for a trip that I could do, and I couldn’t do any of them,” Bev shared. “They were all too long or too difficult. And I was so sad.”

Then, while reading the Monterey Audubon newsletter The Little Sanderling, she clicked on a link to Birdability.

“I saw Virginia’s story. I read all about Birdability. And I was so excited.”

At nearly the same moment, Bev’s physical therapist encouraged her to consider using a rollator walker so she could continue doing the things she loved. Bev took that step. Then she reached out immediately to the Monterey Audubon leader, Amanda Preece, to ask a simple question:

“Do we have this Birdability in Monterey?”

The answer changed everything.

Image description: A screenshot of a Facebook post by Birdability Captain Paul Miller who came to speak to Monterey Audubon and led a Birdability field trip the following day at Pt. Lobos, with a photo of Bev and the caption" Bev (who made all this happen) using her new monopod/binocular setup attached to her wheeled walker". Bev is standing with her walker and Amanda Preece is next to her on the paved trail  holding a scope and pointing to something in the distance. 

Together, they began building accessible and slower-paced outings focused on connection, observation, and community. Even before they were formally aligned with Birdability, they called them “Mindful Walks.” Bev helped distribute flyers to senior centers, physical therapists, and community spaces while also attending the outings herself.

“Selfishly, I got to do a walk every month because I was helping her,” Bev laughed.

Over time, the program grew into a strong and expanding Birdability partnership with Monterey Audubon, supported by a dedicated team of volunteers and outing leaders.

Building Access Thoughtfully

One of the things Bev speaks about most passionately is how Birdability changed the way she understands access.

“When I go to a spot now, I look at it so much differently.”

She described how Birdability’s site review process encourages leaders to think carefully about details that many people might overlook. Parking, seating, benches, trail surfaces, curb cuts, sound environments, and bathrooms all matter. Sometimes a location may not be perfect, but clear communication helps people decide whether a site works for their own needs.

“We look at the site review list. It is wonderful for making us look at each and everything,” Bev explained. “I realized, okay, I don’t have to rule it out if it doesn’t have a bathroom. I just have to tell people.”

One upcoming outing, for example, will take place in a cemetery that does not have bathrooms onsite. Instead of canceling the event, the organizers clearly noted the access details in advance and shared that restrooms are available a short drive away.

That kind of transparency allows more people to participate safely and comfortably.

Bev also shared how Birdability has expanded the Monterey team’s understanding of birding by ear and accessibility for blind and low vision birders. After welcoming their first blind participant to an outing, Bev and the team began planning more intentional birding by ear opportunities.

“We’re looking at doing birding by ear,” she said. “I have three leaders who will actually take that on once we get it going.”

The Power of Connection

Again and again during our conversation, Bev returned to one word: connection.

Birdability outings helped reconnect Bev to birding during difficult periods and medical challenges. They also created opportunities for meaningful community with others navigating retirement, disability, isolation, or changing health.

One story Bev shared centered on a woman who attended one of the very first Mindful Walks after seeing a post on Nextdoor.

“She said, ‘Oh my gosh, I just retired. I don’t know what to do with myself. I love birds. This is so perfect.’”

That participant now attends many outings, practices backyard birding, and exchanges bird photos and messages with Bev regularly.

Another moment that stays with Bev happened during a presentation at a senior center, where she met Janet, a participant who is blind and works with a guide dog. Bev helped her sign up for the newsletter and invited her to an upcoming accessible outing.

Janet came.

“There are these moments like that that just fill my heart,” Bev said. “She said, ‘I have a lot of blind friends. I can spread the word.’”

For Bev, those moments represent exactly what Birdability is about: people finding each other through birds, access, and community.

She also spoke beautifully about presentations at senior centers and assisted living communities, where participants often begin quiet and withdrawn, then gradually light up as bird photos and stories spark memories and conversation.

“Someone will raise a hand and tell a story about a bird from their childhood,” Bev shared. “It evokes memories.”

FeatherFest and Seeing Birds Differently

Image description: Bev, Virginia Rose, and two other birders at Smith Oaks as part of Galveston Island Nature and Tourism Center's FeatherFest in April 2026. The group is on the canopy boardwalk smiling toward the camera. 

This spring, Bev attended Galveston Island Nature Center’s FeatherFest and joined multiple accessible outings led by Birdability founder Virginia Rose.

The trip itself was a major accomplishment. Bev traveled independently while navigating oxygen needs related to lung disease, airport logistics, transportation, and the many physical demands of travel.

“I’m darn proud of myself,” she said.

At FeatherFest, Bev experienced migration fallout along the Texas coast, visited rookery sites at Smith Oaks, watched birds gather around water drips, and spent time birding slowly and intentionally alongside Virginia.

“The one main thing that stands out,” Bev reflected, “was how I learned from Virginia to really just sit and look at details.”

She described spending time with a Great Blue Heron in a way she never had before, despite having seen countless herons over the years.

“It has started me to pay more attention to the details, the important details of the bird, and to really become a part of that bird.”

Bev also came home inspired by seeing physical accessibility changes that Birdability advocacy had helped create at festival sites, including lowered railings that improved visibility for seated birders and wheelchair users.

“I thought, oh my gosh, this woman can make changes like that. What else can I do?”

That inspiration continues to shape Bev’s work in Monterey County, where she hopes to keep expanding accessible outings, birding by ear opportunities, sit spots, and outreach to senior communities. She is already planning to return to FeatherFest next year and hopes to bring other Monterey birders with her.

Image description: Bev and Virginia in their wheelchair and rollator, respectively, backs to the camera in the Birdability t-shirts that say "Birding is for every body!" with a trail in front of them surrounded by trees.

Building Community Through Birds

Today, Monterey Audubon’s Birdability efforts include multiple monthly outings, trained volunteer leaders, site reviews, presentations at senior centers and assisted living facilities, and growing partnerships around accessible birding.

Bev’s leadership is woven through all of it.

Whether she is helping someone sign a newsletter form, encouraging a participant to try backyard birding, scouting accessible sit spots, or sharing the joy of a Nuttall’s Woodpecker visiting her feeder, Bev approaches this work with warmth, curiosity, and care.

“Building community is what we’re all about,” she wrote in her original Little Sanderling article. “Whether you need an accessible field trip or just want the opportunity to explore at a slower pace, everyone is welcome.”

We are deeply grateful to Bev, Amanda Preece, Shannon Connor, the Monterey Audubon team, and the many ways they continue to create spaces where disabled birders and birders with health concerns can gather, connect, and belong.

From The Little Sanderling by Bev Gatliff

Birdability - Birding for every body

Image description: Bev, Virginia Rose, and two other birders in a row at a water feature while attending a FeatherFest oting in April 2026

“Have you seen the exciting upcoming Monterey Audubon Society field trips? You’ll see some that are titled “Let’s Go Birding…Birdability” and may wonder what that means. I’d like to tell you how I learned about this organization and what inspires these trips.

Several years ago when I moved to Monterey County I followed the local Audubon Society newsletter for months but because of new mobility issues, I was unable to join any trips. I was discouraged because I had been an avid birder for many years. In one of Amanda’s Little Sanderling newsletters I saw a link to Birdability.org and when I read what they were all about, I was SO excited! This is what I needed to get me out of the house, discovering new places and meeting new people. I immediately messaged Amanda and asked if Monterey County had Birdability field trips. She was eager to get this program started locally and we met shortly thereafter. I am thrilled to say we now have a core group of volunteers who have been trained through Birdability and carefully plan trips that take ADA access and trail conditions into account to accommodate people with those needs, plus we endeavor to observe birds and nature deeply, focusing on behavior and sounds in addition to the classic bird ID. We're not aiming for speed or distance - our goal is to support getting everyone outdoors, meeting with other birders and nature-lovers, and enjoying our beautiful county. Building community is what we’re all about! Whether you need an accessible field trip or just want the opportunity to explore at a slower pace, every one is welcome.

Please check out the Birdability.org link to learn more. And you can learn about the founder, Virginia Rose HERE, who I recently had the privilege of meeting at the Galveston FeatherFest and I am just in awe of this woman. I’m eager to continue expanding our inclusive field trips and visits to senior centers and assisted living facilities where Shannon has been doing beautiful presentations. Please message me bevgatliff@gmail.com if you’d like to help! I look forward to seeing you on some field trips.”