3 June 2020

Have you ever felt threatened by humans while birding in a public place? It shouldn’t happen and it rarely does to most of us. I can count the few incidents I’ve experienced on one hand.

During Pennsylvania’s Second Breeding Bird Atlas, 2004-2009, I surveyed an under-reported block in Somerset County, walking the edge of a public road. I listened for birdsong and scanned the adjacent open field with my binoculars. I was startled when a resident from the other side of the road started up her car and began following me slowly, creeping behind me at my walking pace. She pulled alongside, drove next to me, and stared hard. She never spoke. Her threat was clear. I left immediately and I never went back.

That incident 15 years ago was one of the few times I felt threatened by humans while birding. I take my own safety for granted but some people cannot. This week I’m learning what it’s like to go birding in someone else’s shoes.

On Memorial Day in Central Park a white woman, Amy Cooper, called the cops on black birder Christian Cooper (no relation) when he asked her to put her dog on a leash. That incident, and many others, became the catalyst for #BlackBirdersWeek organised by #BlackAFinSTEM May 31 to June 5, 2020.

The event aims to increase visibility of Black birders, who face challenges and dangers that non-Black people do not experience when recreating or conducting fieldwork in the outdoors.

To many Americans, wilderness represents freedom and a space that should be open to all. In reality, it is not. Black Birders Week is a way for Black birders, who may have not seen another Black birder, to join together and encourage more participation and diversity in outdoor spaces.

— Forbes, Magazine, Opening the Outdoors: Inaugural Black Birders Week.

It’s already Wednesday (sorry I’m late reporting this!) but there’s more coming up this week.

As @Ologies said on Twitter: “If this initiative has opened your eyes to how our Black friends feel unsafe in outdoor areas, how that impacts the fieldwork they do, the careers they choose: tweet about it. Follow them. Cheer them on.” It’s #BlackBirdersWeek.

This is the week we go birding in someone else’s shoes.

p.s. Here’s the story of a black birdwatcher who created signs to explain his presence after so many people called the police on him: https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2020/06/05/people-called-police-this-black-birdwatcher-so-many-times-that-he-posted-custom-signs-explain-his-hobby/

(photos by Chuck Tague and Florida Fish and Wildlife on Flickr Creative Commons license, #BlackBirdersWeek schedule via #BlackAFinSTEM)

Though the National Aviary is closed to the public during the COVID-19 crisis, essential staff are providing care to the birds and online encounters for us at home.

Each week has a theme plus activities for kids. This is Rainforest Week at the National Aviary.

I missed telling you about Tuesday’s Facebook Live encounter but more activities are planned. Today at 1pm (Wed 15 April 2020) you’ll find Ask the Expert with Dr. Pilar Fish on the National Aviary’s Facebook page.

Meanwhile, have fun viewing this cool page of videos including Benito and Sapphira, flamingo courtship dances, a Harris hawk, Penguin Awareness Day 2018, and baby sloth Vivien (2017).

And here’s an added bonus: Christa Gaus with Bubba the Palm Cockatoo.

Check out the Rainforest Week web page for this week’s activities.

Visit the National Aviary’s Education page any time for more to watch and learn.

(screenshots and videos from the National Aviary)

On Tuesday, March 3, at 7:30 p.m, as part of their Science on Screen series, the Tull Family Theater in Sewickley will be showing A Birder’s Guide to Everything, a film about teens wanting to make birding history. The film is paired with an introduction by Dr. Brian Wargo, an educator and official Audubon Society counter at the Allegheny Front Hawk Watch. He will be talking about the successful recovery of bald eagles and peregrine falcons from extirpation in our area.

What: Presentation + movie: Dr. Brian Wargo speaks about the recovery of bald eagles & peregrine falcons followed by the 2013 movie A Birder’s Guide to Everything, a comedy rated PG-13.

When: Tuesday 3 March 2020 at 7:30pm

Where: The Tull Family Theater, 418 Walnut Street, Sewickley PA 15143 (412.259.8542)

Here’s the trailer:

(screenshot from A Birder’s Guide to Everything)

You can help birds on President’s Day Weekend by counting them.

After we learned last fall that 29% of North America’s birds have vanished since 1970, Cornell Lab of Ornithology provided us with 7 Simple ways to help birds. The Great Backyard Bird Count, 14-17 February 2020, is a fun way to do #7: “Watch Birds & Share What You See.”

Counting birds for science is one simple action that individuals can take to protect birds and the places where they live.

GBBC press release, 2020

It’s easy to participate. Everything you need to know is at birdcount.org including this slideshow that explains how to do it. It’s as easy at 1-2-3.

1. Register for an eBird account if you don’t already have one. (GBBC uses eBird.)
2. Count birds for at least 15 minutes during those four days. Yes, the minimum requirement is just 15 minutes of your time! You can count for longer than 15 minutes and in more than one place if you wish.
3. Keep track of the highest number of each species with a separate checklist for each new day, for each new location, or for the same location if you counted at a different time of day. Use your computer or the eBird mobile app to submit your observations.

If you love to take photographs submit your best shots to the GBBC photo contest. Click here for contest information.

You can count birds anywhere —  in your backyard, in a park, at the shore, or on a hike.  Or stay indoors and count birds at your feeders.

Join the Great Backyard Bird Count, 14-17 February 2020.

(2020 poster from birdcount.org)