Birding is for Every Body: Birdability Week, October 20-26

Photo: Birdwatching from a wheelchair, USFWS Headquarters, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Jo Doumbia

Have you ever paused to think about how many people might want to join us in birding but can’t? Not because they lack interest, but because the trail is too rough for a wheelchair, the signage is too small for someone with limited vision, or the group atmosphere doesn’t feel welcoming to someone living with anxiety. That’s where Birdability comes in.

Founded by Virginia Rose, a birder and wheelchair user, Birdability is a nonprofit with a powerful vision: birding should be welcoming, inclusive, safe, and accessible for everybody and every body. Its mission goes far beyond removing barriers on trails. It’s about creating community, dignity, and joy for people of all abilities.

Birding is often seen as one of the most accessible hobbies: you can do it anywhere, at any age, with very little equipment. But in reality many opportunities are closed to people living with mobility challenges, sensory disabilities, chronic illness, or neurodivergence. That means a vast number of potential birders and future conservation allies are left out.

When we design programs with accessibility in mind, we don’t just help others: we strengthen our own community. Accessible trails and viewing platforms mean families can bird together. Clear communication and welcoming environments make first-time birders feel at home. Inclusion helps us live out the truth that birds belong to everyone.

Birdability offers tools to make this possible. Its crowdsourced Birdability Map, created by National Audubon Society in association with Birdability, helps birders of all abilities know what to expect at birding sites. Resource documents on Birdability’s website guide leaders on inclusive practices and respectful communication. And each October, Birdability Week shines a light on accessible birding with events, workshops, and celebrations across the country.

As birders, we can be part of this change. We can start by noticing where barriers exist, sharing reviews of our favorite spots, and experimenting with accessible outings. Most of all, we can open our doors wider and welcome people who may not have thought birding was for them.

Accessibility isn’t just a checklist: it’s a mindset. It’s choosing to see birding not as an exclusive hobby, but as a shared language of wonder and joy that everyone deserves to speak. By embracing Birdability’s vision, we can open the door to new members, new friends, and new advocates for the birds and habitats we cherish.

Let’s make sure birding is truly for everybody.

eBird or Birda, or Both?

Photo: James Breeden/Audubon

Deidra Bryant

Most American birdwatchers are familiar with eBird and Merlin, products developed and managed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and launched in 2002 and 2021, respectively. But have you heard of Birda? It was developed in 2013 by a couple as a social media website and mobile application for sharing wildlife sightings in southern Africa, transitioned into a birdwatching community in 2018, and was launched as Birda in Europe and the US in 2022. It’s worth a look, even for dedicated eBird and Merlin users.

How does Birda work? Think of Facebook and Instagram, but for birders. Once you have downloaded the application you can create a profile, which requires only your name (or an alias), your location, and a species region. Then you are ready to use Birda to record and share your sightings with a selected group of friends or more globally. If you want to take a hike or walk and spot birds and record as you go, you tap the + symbol at the bottom of your screen and select “Birding Session.” If you simply want to record a one-off sighting, select “Add Sighting.” In that way, Birda is much like eBird.

In Birda’s “Birding Session” feature, simply tap “log bird,” and it will ask you what you saw. It will keep doing that until you choose to end your session. Once you are finished with your walk, you can post your experience on the app for friends and followers to see. You also can adjust privacy settings by tapping the “Profile” icon at the bottom of the screen. Birda uses a timer and GPS, so your post will display the date and time your session took place from start to finish along with bird species seen and number of sightings. You’ll be able to tag people, post notes, add photos, and even create titles for your session.

The “Add Sighting” option will ask you where you were, what you saw, and when you saw it. If you’re not sure what you saw, you can upload a picture and the Birda community will help you with identification if you choose to allow others to see your sighting. You also can help others ID birds they aren’t sure about on the “Unidentified” section of the “Feed” page. eBird users might turn to Merlin or iNaturalist for help with identification.

In Birda you can follow people overseas and see what birds they saw and where, and leave comments. You also can follow and see what your neighbors saw in your local area. That way you can try your luck spotting that same bird near you. You can create life lists and use the mapping location feature to see what birds have been recorded lately in an area. Birda also includes links to other information sources, displaying information on the natural history of the birds if you tap on the bird’s image. A species guide also is available in the “Discover” section seen at the bottom of the screen on the app.

Even if you are a committed eBird user, it’s worth your time to download and test drive Birda. Its Facebook-like features may attract more casual birders to participation in citizen science. And, although the application was not developed by a venerable institution like Cornell, it has been endorsed as a data publisher by the National Biodiversity Network, which has allowed it to contribute to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, an international network and data infrastructure used to provide anyone and everyone open access to all types of information about life on earth. So, like eBird, the application can help scientists understand more about birds and climate change

So, give it a try! More information about Birda and its founders is available in a 2022 article by Matt Mendenhall in Birdwatching.