It's Time to Redefine 'Birding'

Anyone who enjoys birds—wherever, however—should be able to call themselves a birder.

By Freya McGregor, Contributor, Audubon Magazine , August 02, 2021

Redefining birding. photo by Lia Bocchiara, Audubon.

Language matters. As birders, the words we use signal what we value. To nurture a community as wonderfully diverse as the birds we love, we need to ensure our language is as welcoming and inclusive as possible. One easy way to do this is to redefine “birding” and who a “birder” is.

Read the entire article here.

Freya McGregor (she/her), OTR/L, CIG is the Birdability Coordinator and Occupational Therapist. You can follow her on Instagram @the.ot.birderand learn more about Birdability at birdability.org You can also hear her on Talkin’ Birds, where she works part time as the Outreach Coordinator and shares some of her birding adventures with listeners via audio postcards.

Ever wonder?

Deformity allowed encircling;
Encircling allowed deformity.
A kiss became locked lips,
a touch, shared skin:
a sylvan mystery.
The coupling doubles,
tugging bark but xylem
and phloem too.
With bypasses grafted
shared nutrients flow.
Without one root
or one trunk shaft
both trees survive.
No barrier separates
this symbiotic twist;
Asymmetries do persist.

~ Dr. James Dunstan 11/25/2018
(Dr. Dunstan is the brother of BTC 2021 trainees Betsy Maddux and Bob Dunstan)

photo by J. Dunstan