Birding Resources

Previously it was thought that only male birds sing, now we know different. Learn how women scientist at Female Bird Song Project are changing the perspective about female birds and song.  Learn about the bias of female birds in ornithology, The Galbatrosses and why the group was inspired to create Female Bird Day.

Female Bird Day is May 29th-31st.

National Audubon's Plants for Birds uses your zip code to recommend a collection of native plants to your area. Native plants + native bugs = Bird Food! Besides requiring less water and care, why are native plants so important? Author, ecologist, entomologist and University of Deleware professor Doug Tallamy briefly sums it up here

Sibley’s, Stokes, National Geographic, Kaufman and Peterson’s Field Guide books are popular. Your public library has MANY! Try before you buy! There are many field guides. Here's a few! Looking for a kid friendly field guide or birding apps? Here you go!

eBird is a worldwide platform which allows you to submit bird data, explore species, regions and birding hotspots, take bird quizzes and so much more. Check out these eBird best practices to get you started. 

The Feminist Bird Club is dedicated to promoting inclusivity in birding while fundraising and providing a safe opportunity for members of the LGBTQIA+ community, BIPOC, and women to connect with the natural world. Find chapters and sibling clubs, go birding!

I've created a resource list of female bird guides in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia. Create a FREE account to find a female guide for your next birding adventure! Thank you for supporting women guides of the world.

The BlackAFinSTEM Collective seeks to support, uplift, and amplify Black STEM professionals in natural resources and the environment through professional development, career connection, and community engagement. Black Birders Week was created in 2020 by the collective, in response to renowned birder Christian Cooper being racially profiled and harassed in Central Park. May 29th-June 4th 2022 marks Black Birders Week 3rd year.

Birdability's mission is to share the joys of birding with people who have disabilities and ensure birding is accessible for everybody. Birding is truly for everybody regardless of disabilities or health concerns. Photo of Birdability founder Virginia Rose by Jeff Patterson

Visiting Seattle without a car? Or maybe you live here. Seattle has many great urban birding spots and some of them are accessible as well. Find info on bus and train routes, trails and bird species over at my Urban and Accessible Birding page.

A list of native plant nurseries for Washington State. Asking for native plants by their Latin name ensures your purchasing true natives. Planting natives encourages native insects and provides a needed food source for birds, especially those raising young. A parent Chickadee requires 6,000-9,000 caterpillars to feed its young before they fledge, all within a 150 foot radius of the nest. Planting native plants for caterpillars is one of the best ways to support birds! Find native caterpillar friendly plants based on your zip code!

Doug Tallamy is American entomologist, ecologist and conservationist. He is a professor in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware and the author of many papers and books including: Natures Best Hope, Bringing Nature Home and The Nature of Oaks. Tallamy lays out simple and inspiring steps to creating native habitat and supporting conservation in our yards. 

BirdCast website offers useful tools which enable the viewer to see live maps of bird migration, migration forecast maps and local bird migration alerts. Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Colorado State University produce the forecasts and maps. You can help birds during migration too! 

Want to help the birds? Here are some simple and essential tips for helping birds this fall and winter. Learn about leaf litter, brush piles and why you shouldn't snip those perennial stems and flower heads.

Don't give away that free mulch (leaves), learn about the insects that use leaves to overwinter and the birds that use leaf litter to feed. 

Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All about Birds is a phenomenal resource offering articles on bird friendly coffee, the effects of outdoor cats on birds, preventing bird window strikes, bird courses and quizzes. bird info and I.D tips and so much more!

Did you know there are only 5 steps to creating a Certified Wildlife Habitat? It can be easily done in a yard, small apartment balcony, on school grounds or even a natural area at your place of work. 

Consider adding a snag or "Wildlife Tree" to your yard. If you have an existing tree which needs to come down, topping it off to a safe height, away from structures or walkways is a great way to provide for wildlife. 

Help birds navigate safely! Birds see differently than humans. As a result, one of the leading causes of bird mortality is window strikes, especially during migration. Prevent window strikes while maintaining your views. Learn how here!

Are you getting the most from your binoculars? These tips are geared toward the beginning birder or those wanting an in depth look at binocular terms and usage. 

The "Inside Birding" series by Cornell Lab of Ornithology has a great series of free 10-minute videos that take an in-depth look at four basic keys to identifying birds: Size & Shape, Color Pattern, Behavior, and Habitat.

Do you create a healthy environment for birds? Feeding birds is a great way to learn about them, offering a chance to observe behavior, practice identification as well as engage in a more mindful birding approach. Learn how to keep your bird feeders clean to ensure your feeder birds health! And don't forget to provide clean birdbaths all year long for bathing and drinking birds!

Simple steps to support our bird species include voting for those enacting policy to protect birds and conserve and restore critical habitat. Wondering what other easy and important steps you can take to support birds? Here's a few ideas. 

Curious about bird friendly coffee and cocoa and why it matters? Smithsonian scientists developed the Bird Friendly certification for coffee in the late 1990s to conserve habitat and protect migratory songbirds — and this trusted brand has recently expanded to cocoa. It's the highest certification protecting bird species around. Learn more, buy coffee and meet the birds!