This week’s challenge for new birders: Try joining a group for an outing, or birding with at least one new person.
Let us know how it goes commented here. And if you’re already part of the birding community, tell us about it. Have you met friends — or even your spouse — through birding? What does it bring you? In the next dispatch, we will share highlights from the participants.
In early 2020, as Black Lives Matter protests took place around the world and the pandemic began to spread, Ollie Olanipekun and Nadeem Perera founded Flock Together, a group for birders of color in Britain.
“I go to these remote towns where there are no people of color, no diversity,” said Mr. Olanipekun, 38. “On your own, your looks are like daggers.” Numbers provided a sense of safety.
Since, Get together expanded its scope, organizing walks in New York and Toronto; the group is most active in London and Tokyo. Thousands of people around the world are now connected to Flock Together. In the middle of a typical walk, participants sometimes share poetry or other reflections. “It’s the perfect balance of nature nerds and creative heads,” says Mr. Perera.
In 2020, Hannah Kirshenbaum, 26, helped found a Brooklyn-based group called NYC Queer Birders, especially for LGBTQ bird lovers. This was before the pandemic; Ms. Kirshenbaum had an interest in birding but as a queer person was not always comfortable with traditional birding groups. “We didn’t really see our particular demographic there,” they said.
The group grew in popularity; its walks, which at first were attended by only a few people, now regularly attract 50 to 100. The draw is social as well as natural. “We hope that people will make friends – or lovers,” said Ms. Kirshenbaum.
Here are some tips on finding the group that’s right for you. Start close to home: Check the schedule at nearby parks or nature reserves, where events may already be taking place, Mr. Olanipekun said. “A lot of people don’t realize the incredible programming that takes place in local parks,” he said.
As part of The Times’ summer birding project, BirdLife International and several Audubon Society chapters organized special outings from July 28 to 30. See below for more details.
Mr. Olanipekun said aspiring birders should not let lack of knowledge hold them back. “The barrier to entry for the bird watching activity is very, very, very low,” he said.
Recommended by Ms. Kirshenbaum to scour social media for events. “I’ll just type ‘queer birding’ into Instagram, and I bet your city has something,” they said. “And if not, you should start it.”