Bird Festivals

If you’re involved in organizing a birding festival, whether it’s a local one-day event or a national or international multi-day event, we want to see accessible and inclusive events as part of your annual line up! Work through Steps to Implement, then work through these.

1. Include accessible and inclusive events on the schedule. In the event description, include:

   • Thorough descriptions of the accessibility features of the site (see Access Considerations for Birding Locations for more on this). Complete a Birdability Site Review for every reasonably accessible site any of your outings will visit; you can link directly to Birdability Site Reviews from your webpage in order to include this important accessibility information in your event descriptions.

   • Information on the distance of the outing, the length of the outing, and if breaks will be provided during the outing (preferably at benches in the shade).

   • If attendees are able to drive themselves to the event’s starting point (which may be vital for people who drive modified vans and use wheelchairs).

   • Information on the event leader, including if they have an accessibility challenge. If they do not, include what experience they have leading accessible bird outings.

   • The maximum number of people who can attend (may be important for some birders to know, including birders with autism or who experience chronic pain).

2. When possible, assign a leader with accessibility challenges to lead the event, or invite Birdability to lead!

3. Hold more than one accessible outing. Consider this: if an able-bodied/sighted/hearing/neurotypical birder came to your festival, they’d have many choices of events to attend. Be sure to give attendees with accessibility challenges multiple options too, including choices of different locations and different target birds.

Please note: Please describe your event as an “accessible bird outing” or similar. The word "Birdability" should not be used unless the outing is being held jointly by your bird festival and Birdability.

Photo in page header: courtesy of Virginia Rose.