Welcoming and Inclusive Birders

Whether you’re out birding on your own or you’re leading an accessible bird outing, every birder and bird outing leader should strive to be welcoming and inclusive of everybody they meet: long-time birders, potential future birders, able-bodied birders and birders with accessibility challenges. Here are some ideas to make sure you’re ensuring that your behavior shows that you, too, believe that birding is for everybody!

This has been complied from the point of view of a bird outing leader, but almost all of these suggestions apply to all birders! Read one of our blog posts about wheelchair etiquette too.

Planning

• Assess the birding location for it’s accessibility. Submit a Birdability Site Review to include your birding location on the Birdability Map so other birders with accessibility challenges can find out about it. Use this information in your event description when you promote your outing. (For more on this, check out Writing bird outing event descriptions.)

• Read up on some suggested Inclusive Language Use for birders with accessibility challenges, but remember that individuals may have their own preferences. (These are just suggestions to get you started.)

• Wear a name tag with good contrast (clear, dark font on a light background) for maximum readability for everyone.

• Incorporate five-minute rest breaks into the outing in places with benches (preferably in the shade), every 30-60 minutes. Take these breaks, even if no one says they need them. (People can keep birding nearby during the break if they would like!)

• Be aware of overt and covert racism or homophobia (current or historical) in any areas where you want to hold bird walks. Reconsider the location. No one wants to go on a bird walk in a place they feel unsafe.

Beginning your outing

• Smile at people! It’s the easiest way to help them feel welcome and at ease.

• Assume people are here to go birding too, whether they have binoculars or not. Not everyone can afford optics, some folks don’t like using them, and beginner birders may simply not know yet whether they want to invest in them.

• Include a welcome statement at the beginning of your outing, with a brief land acknowledgement. (Learn more about how to do that from the Native Governance Center and from an article in Audubon magazine.) While it’s easy to think, “Why wouldn’t everyone feel welcome?” it can make a huge difference to someone if they are actively welcomed. This also sets the social etiquette for the outing and can make other participants more aware of their own behavior. This recommendation is inspired by the work of the Feminist Bird Club.

  • This welcome statement might sound something like, “Hi everyone! Welcome to this accessible bird outing. My name is Virginia Rose, and I’m going to be the leader. I don’t know everything about birds, so I welcome your input when there are things I’m not sure about or if I make a mistake. I also want you to know that if you are a beginner birder, if you are Black, Indigenous or a Person of Color, if you have a disability or accessibility challenge of any kind, or if you identify as LGBTQIA+, you are certainly welcome on this walk, and I’m glad you’re here! I love going birding, and I’m excited to spend the next hour or two with you and learning from you… and I hope you’ll enjoy it too! Please feel free to ask any questions you have about anything we see or that you hear anyone say; I was a beginner once too. If you need help finding a bird we’re looking at, or you didn’t hear the name of the bird, please ask someone near you, and they’ll be happy to help. OK! Let’s go!”

• Right after your welcome statement, invite everyone to share their names, their pronouns (such as “he/him” or “they/them”), and anything else they’d like other participants to know (for example, not to crowd them because they don’t like being touched). Plenty of birders will forget another person’s name the first time they hear it, but the fact that they’ve been told it can make them feel more comfortable asking questions. Start the process by introducing yourself: “Hi! I’m Virginia, and my pronouns are she/her.”

• Don’t single someone out no matter how excited you are to see a certain kind of person on your outing. That can feel really uncomfortable (even though you had the best intentions).

• The first time you meet someone, don’t ask “Where are you from?” or “How long have you been birding?” These questions sound innocent, but some folks find them uncomfortable. It can feel like you are implying that they are inexperienced and lacking in knowledge. It also isn’t an effective way of gauging how “good” a birder they are.

  • To strike up friendly small talk, why not ask about the most recent cool bird they’ve seen? Even if it’s a bird you’ve seen often, respond with excitement—after all, it might be new to the person who told you.

Throughout

• Believe someone when they spot or ID a bird. It can feel discouraging and even dismissive to have your ID ignored or questioned. Instead, trust but verify. This can be the difference between a bird outing leader being encouraging and discouraging. Regardless of someone’s skin color, physical ability, age, gender or sexual orientation, believe them! (Of course, if they were incorrect, gently point this out and perhaps explain why they might have got the ID wrong.)

• Don’t comment on what makes someone different unless it needs to be discussed.

• Ensure you’re aware of participants who might need to come to the front of the group to see a bird (for example, because they’re seated in their wheelchair) or for participants who need to sit down to regain energy or rest an injury.

• If you’re going to be in one place for a longer time, set up a scope at wheelchair height before anyone asks you to do this. It shows you’re aware of the potential needs of the birders on your outing.

• Don’t touch someone’s mobility device without their permission. A wheelchair, for example, is part of someone’s personal space, and you can cause balance difficulties for the wheelchair user by leaning on or pushing it.

• Don’t assume someone needs help without asking them. If they say ‘no’ to your offer of help, be gracious, and let them know you’ll be around if they would like a hand later.

• Keep listening and learning. Examine your biases. Reflect… and then act. And if someone corrects you, don’t give up. Thank them for their feedback and try again.

A double-sided, printable handout is available if you would like to have hard copies of this information at your site. Please be sure to attribute this resource to Birdability, so others will know where to come to find more! If you do this, please also consider making a donation to support us in creating more resources like this so we can ensure they’re freely available to all who do not have the ability to pay. Thank you!

Photo in page header: Rhianyon Larson. Taken during a Tucson Audubon and Southern Arizona Adaptive Sports accessible bird outing at Sweetwater Wetlands in Tucson, Arizona, September 2020.