How eBird users can contribute to a more birdable world
At eBird Northwest, we encourage everyone to watch birds and share what they see. Recent conversations in the birding community about justice, equity, inclusion have helped raise awareness about barriers to engagement in bird watching. We recognize that for people with impaired mobility or a disability, one of the greatest barriers to bird watching outdoors is the limited number of accessible spaces, or the challenge of locating spaces that are accessible. Travis Audubon Society board member Virginia Rose started Birdability because she wanted to help others overcome accessibility barriers and experience nature and the joy of birding.
“Birdability focuses on removing barriers to access for birders with mobility challenges, blindness or low vision, intellectual or developmental disabilities (including autism), mental illness, being Deaf or Hard of Hearing or other health concerns. Lack of accessibility information should not be a barrier to those who want to get outside. But information on how accessible parks, hiking trails, and birding locations are is frequently incomplete or non-existent, making it difficult for people who experience accessibility challenges to find places to go birding.” – from National Audubon’s Birdability StoryMap
National Audubon’s Birdability StoryMap includes an interactive Birdability Map that allows users to quickly locate accessible birding sites in the United States, and access information about parking, restrooms, ramps, and other key accessibility factors. The Birdability map displays crowdsourced data reported via Birdability Site Review survey. The Pacific Northwest region is shown below.
The Pacific Northwest region of the Birdability Map (from https://arcg.is/1qmb1a, accessed on Jan 14, 2021)
As an eBird user, you can add to the Birdability Map and contribute to a more birdable world by completing the Birdability Site Review survey when you visit an outdoor space to watch birds. If you use the eBird app on a mobile device, you can save the Birdability Site Review survey as a bookmark in your mobile web browser and complete it before or after you start your eBird checklist. Your input can help point out exciting birding areas (or potentially eBird hotspots) that are Birdable and accessible for people who are eager to experience nature and the joy of birding.
Birdability in the Pacific Northwest
Roniq Bartanen (SheBirds) was inspired by Virginia Rose and Birdability to compile a guide to 15 birdable locations in the Seattle area, which you can explore here.