Podcasts about birdability

In Episode 135 of White Canes Connect, hosts Lisa Bryant and David Goldstein welcome Martha Steele and Natanya Sortland to spotlight the inaugural Blind Birders Birdathon happening May 18, 2025. This nationwide event invites blind and visually impaired individuals to identify birds by sound during a flexible two-hour window within a 24-hour period. No birding experience required—just a love of listening. Martha, a lifelong birder from Massachusetts, was inspired by an article about a blind bird guide and helped launch the event to build community and highlight that birding is, above all, an auditory experience. Natanya, an ambassador for VisionCorps and a self-described "bird-loving beginner," is leading a group walk in Malvern, PA at Brightside Farm, with expert Rick Kaiser guiding participants through the art of bird song recognition. Supported by Birdability and fueled by grassroots passion, the Birdathon already has 160+ registered participants. Everyone who registers is eligible for a prize drawing that includes birding gear, books, and even a guided birding tour. The event is open to anyone blind or low vision—and yes, even sighted allies are welcome to join the fun. Register at https://www.birdability.org/blind-birder-birdathon and be part of this first-of-its-kind movement. Show notes at https://www.whitecanesconnect.com/135         Links Mentioned Want to join Natanya's group in Malvern on May 18? Reach out to her at natanyasortland@gmail.com. Have questions about the Birdathon? Contact Martha at marthajs@gmail.com. Attend Spring Fling Blind Vendor Showcase: https://www.pablindmerchants.org/fling/  Exhibit at Spring Fling (sorry, blind & low vision vendors only): https://www.pablindmerchants.org/exhibit/  Sponsor the Spring Fling Blind Vendor Showcase: https://www.pablindmerchants.org/sponsor/  Have you checked out Federation Focus yet? https://www.youtube.com/@nfbofpa/  An Easy Way to Help the NFB of PA Support the NFB of PA with every purchase at White Cane Coffee Company by going to https://www.whitecanecoffee.com/ref/nfbp. When you use that link to purchase from White Cane Coffee, the NFB of PA earns a 10% commission! Share the link with your family and friends! Listen to Erin and Bob Willman from White Cane Coffee on episode 072 of White Canes Connect. Donate to the NFB of PA Like what you hear on White Canes Connect? Support us and donate to the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania, visit https://www.NFBofPA.org/give/. We Want to Hear Your Story Reach out with questions and comments, or share ideas! We want to hear from you. Call us at (267) 338-4495 or at whitecanesconnect@gmail.com. Follow White Canes Connect Find out why White Canes Connect is currently ranked at #13 of the 100 Best Visually Impaired Podcast. Find the show on: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/white-canes-connect/id1592248709  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1YDQSJqpoteGb1UMPwRSuI  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@pablindpodcast 

October is ADHD Awareness Month, let's celebrate neurodiversity in the birding community! 5 Tips for birding with ADHD. ADDA and Birdability. Attention Deficit Disorder Association Birdability

Birdability was created to help everybody bird. Virginia Rose, founder, and Michael Hurben, Birdability's local representative join us to discuss what Birdability is, why it is important to people with disabilities, and how Birdability provides resources for people with disabilities to bird. 

Birding is a fun activity with many different ways you can do it. You can bird by ear and identify birds by their songs. You can look at the birds and identify them that way. You can watch the birds out your window or as you spend time in your yard. Or you can go on trips where birding can be either a side activity or the main purpose of the trip. It really is an activity that pretty much anyone can do in pretty much any location. In this episode, I am joined by James Wheat. James is the President of the Kentucky Ornithological Society. You may also remember him from our conversation a few months ago about the Christmas Bird Count. Once again James shares a wealth of information along with his passion for helping others get involved in birding. Our conversation focuses on birding tools and technology that can be helpful for birders with any experience level. We start our conversation by talking about binoculars, what the numbers mean, and tips about what to look for when purchasing binoculars. Our conversation then moves to a discussion of free birding apps that James really enjoys using. The first birding app that we discuss is Merlin which is in some ways a digital field guide, but can also do so much more. This app can help you identify a bird whether you see it or hear it, and you can access tons of detailed information about that bird. The second app that we talk about is eBird which also has a desktop version. eBird helps you keep track of the birds that you've seen in different locations, let's you see what birds other people have seen in a given location, and is used by scientists to study birds. We wrap up our conversation by talking about the Birding Hotspots website which provides logistical information about parking, trail surfaces, bathrooms, etc. associated with the eBird hotspots. Links to all the resources we talked about can be found on the webpage for this episode. Also, Anthony and I are working on a project that we're very excited about. We're hoping to make an announcement about it very soon, possibly within the next couple of weeks. If you want to be among the first to hear about it, and perhaps participate in our beta trial, then be sure to subscribe to our Backyard Ecology emails. You can do so at www.backyardecology.net/subscribe. That'll keep you up to date with everything going on in the Backyard Ecology world. And when you sign up for our emails, you'll also be able to download a free, e-book that explains why our familiar garden zones, don't mean anything when it comes to gardening with native plants. That's just our way of saying thank you for your interest in Backyard Ecology. Until next week, I encourage you to take some time to enjoy the nature in your own yard and community. Links for James: James' email: james.a.wheat@gmail.com Kentucky Ornithological Society's webpage: https://www.birdky.org Binocular Resources: 6 Steps to Choosing a Pair of Binoculars You'll Love: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/six-steps-to-choosing-a-pair-of-binoculars-youll-love/ How to Choose Your Binoculars: https://www.audubon.org/news/how-choose-your-binoculars Merlin: Website: https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org Who's Singing? How to Use Merlin Bird ID to Identify Bird Calls (1 hr webinar): https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/live-event/whos-singing-how-to-use-merlin-bird-id-to-identify-bird-calls/ eBird: Website: https://ebird.org/home eBird Essentials (free course): https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/product/ebird-essentials/ Site Logistical Resources: Birding Hotspots: https://birdinghotspots.org Birdability: https://www.birdability.org Backyard Ecology Links: Website: https://backyardecology.net YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/backyardecology Blog: https://www.backyardecology.net/blog/ Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/backyardecology Make a one-time donation: https://www.paypal.com/biz/fund?id=K7F3HJLJT9F8N Subscribe to Backyard Ecology emails: https://www.backyardecology.net/subscribe/ Episode image: American goldfinch Photo credit: Shenandoah National Park, public domain

Kids (adults, too) are attracted to the magic of birds—they can be colorful, they make different sounds, they hop, they fly. Birds connect people to nature in fascinating and varying ways. Seeing the same birds in your environment and learning about them can help form a deeper understanding and relationship with the natural world. In today's episode, I'm chatting with Freya McGregor, an O.T. and disabled birder, about how birding is a beautifully accessible activity that you can add as a tool to your nature-based therapy practice. She shares how to use it as a mindfulness tool, how to adapt birding activities to different needs, and why it's truly accessible, even if it doesn't appear that way at first glance. This is a delightful and exciting conversation that I hope will leave you with lots of ideas and inspiration for incorporating birding into your nature-based therapy practice. We'll discuss: Freya's experience as an O.T., her nonprofit Birdability, her new organization, Access Birding, and a sneak peak of what's going to be in her upcoming book How vast and individual and detailed the world of birding is How birding can be used as a mindfulness tool Different styles of birding that can be used in nature-based therapy, and how to adapt the styles to different children's needs How learning about the birds that you see regularly in your environment is the first step to exploring and understanding differences in other bird species How therapists could partner with Audubon or ornithological societies Social and cultural barriers into birding, and why you don't need equipment to be a birder Connect with Freya: Follow Freya on Instagram Follow Access Birding on Instagram Freya's website Access Birding website Resources from this episode: Ornitherapy by Holly Merker Meg Proctor's Instagram Merlin Bird ID app If you're ready to take the next step in this adventure, join our free Therapy in the Great Outdoors Community at therapyinthegreatoutdoors.com. The TGO community is a private space just for nature based pediatric practitioners. We have loads of resources there to support you as you start or grow a nature based practice or program. If you're serious about taking your nature-based practice to the next level, come join the Business Bedrocks Group Coaching Program in The Business Hive. You'll get clarity & confidence to grow a profitable and personally fulfilling business that runs on auto-pilot as much as possible. For even more resources, check out The Therapy in the Great Outdoors (TGO) Library, a proven toolkit for no-stress nature-based treatment planning. Are you a pediatric therapist interested in taking your work with children out into nature? The ConTiGO Approach Online Course will open for registration soon: visit www.ConTiGOapproach.com to join the waitlist.

Bird-a-thon is Massachusetts Audubon's biggest fundraiser. Teams of birders spend 24 hours competing to observe as many bird species as they can, to encourage people to donate. But Meghadeepa Maity, who helped organize Bird-a-thon in 2021, realized that not everyone can spend all day traveling to find birds. They started to think of other approaches. Meghadeepa, who's also an organizer for Birdability, helped create an inclusive Bird-a-thon experience: a stationary count circle at a wildlife sanctuary. The event had a great turnout — and plenty of birds.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perks. BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible.

Team Nuthatch competed in the 2022 World Series of Birding. The team was organized by Birdability, a group that promotes accessibility in birding, and consisted of people with different disabilities. Despite challenging weather, the team persevered and won an award in the competition. Team member Jerry Berrier says that the team had to work together to find wheelchair accessible locations and quiet space for those with sensory concerns. And the group bonded quickly, like when Jerry volunteered to teach a teammate how to guide a person who is blind.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perks. BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible.

Freya McGregor is the coordinator of Birdability, an organization that works to make birding more accessible and inclusive for people with disabilities. She says that one of the big challenges is that different parts of accessible design don't get connected — for example, when a paved trail for wheelchair users has info signs placed too from the trail to read. Designing parks with accessibility in mind from the parking lot and all along the trail can help make outdoor experiences for people with disabilities more self-directed and independent. Learn more about Birdability on the Bring Birds Back podcast.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perks. BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible.

People with disabilities often face barriers to birding. These can be infrastructural and cultural. The organization Birdability is addressing those barriers by raising awareness, crowdsourcing information on what trails and birding spots are already accessible (or what other locations need to do to improve), advocating for these changes, and building community for disabled people in birding. Tenijah travels to Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge in Alabama to go birding and learns how to make nature more accessible with Freya McGregor of Birdability and birders BJ Allen, Linda Neighbors, and Hal Tichenor.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perks. BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible.

Virginia Rose, who has been using a manual wheelchair for more than 40 years, knows how difficult it can be to enjoy nature as a disabled person. With her organization "Birdability," Rose finds ways to increase access to nature for people of all abilities and help others find community. She offers her Brief But Spectacular take on finding independence while birdwatching. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Virginia Rose, who has been using a manual wheelchair for more than 40 years, knows how difficult it can be to enjoy nature as a disabled person. With her organization "Birdability," Rose finds ways to increase access to nature for people of all abilities and help others find community. She offers her Brief But Spectacular take on finding independence while birdwatching. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Virginia Rose, who has been using a manual wheelchair for more than 40 years, knows how difficult it can be to enjoy nature as a disabled person. With her organization "Birdability," Rose finds ways to increase access to nature for people of all abilities and help others find community. She offers her Brief But Spectacular take on finding independence while birdwatching. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Virginia Rose, Founder and President of Birdability, along with Freya McGregor, Director of programs and outreach, and an occupational therapist, discuss the group's goals and their personal journeys that led them to birding.  Through education, outreach and advocacy, Birdability works to ensure the birding community and the outdoors are welcoming, inclusive, safe and accessible for everybody.

Virginia Rose and Freya McGregor from Birdability on the challenges — and benefits — for people with disabilities while out in nature. For more information, please visit njaudubon.org/coffee

We have seen, in recent years, an increased awareness of the need to make birding welcoming, inclusive, and accessible. There are many many avenues to making a reality. Birdability is an organization that seeks to do so for people with a wide range of disabilities, from mobility challenges to chronic illness to neurodivergence. My guests are Virginia Rose, the president and founder of Birdability and Freya McGregor, Birdability's coordinator. Also, if not Burrowing Owl, perhaps Manuring Owl? Subscribe to the podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts, and please leave a rating or a review if you are so inclined! We appreciate it!

We're back! With Ari on the mend, we get together (virtually) to assign some "Winter Break Homework" for everyone: our recommendations for articles, books, hobbies, and hopes for the new year! Bye bye 2021!  Links for all the stuff and things:  What's Wrong with this Picture? Effectiveness is Not Enough - by Dr Susan Friedman Blazing Clickers - by Steve Martin and Dr Susan Friedman What It's Like To Be A Bird - by David Allen Sibley Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking - by Susan Cain Drinking from the Toilet (Episode 118): Reinforcing Diversity with Ken Ramirez You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes (Episode 217): Deepak Chopra Recommended Episodes of OUR show: Episode 37: Q and A and Q (with Hardy Kern) Episode 84: Leveling Up Your Work Culture (with Joe Quadara) Episode 85: Birdability! (with Virginia Rose) Finding Your Wings: A Workbook for Beginning Bird Watchers - by Peterson Field Guides) The Great British Baking Show - on Netflix A Beginner's Guide to Gunpla - by Bluefin Brands The Headspace Guide to Sleep - on Netflix Do you have something cool to recommend for people to check out? Let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com

Ari is joined by Virginia Rose, Founder and President of Birdability, a non-profit organization whose mission is to share the joys of birding with people who have disabilities, and to ensure birding and nature are accessible for everyone. Virginia talks about "rediscovering" nature in her 40s, the unusual way that Birdability started and took on a life of its own, and the ways that everyone can help to make the outdoors and birding accessible "for everybody and every body." Have a question or a topic you'd like us to discuss on the show? Email us at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

This week, we have an international flavour to the show – with two very special guests. First, we chat to Suzy Buttress from England. Suzy is the host of The Casual Birder Podcast, which encourages people of all experience levels to appreciate birds wherever they are found. She shares about her podcast, as well as gives us insights into her style of birding. We then chat to Freya McGregor, an Australian who lives in the United States. She tells us all about the Birdability project that looks to make birding accessible to more people – especially people with disabilities. To support the work that we do: https://my.captivate.fm/buymeacoffee.com/TheBirdingLife (buymeacoffee.com/TheBirdingLife) Visit our online store to get your birding related merchandise at great prices https://www.thebirdinglife.com/online-store (https://www.thebirdinglife.com/online-store) Links from the show: Suzy Buttress links Website https://casualbirder.com/ (https://casualbirder.com/) Email CasualBirderPod@gmail.com Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CasualBirderPod/ (https://www.facebook.com/CasualBirderPod/) Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/CasualBirderPodcast/ (https://www.facebook.com/groups/CasualBirderPodcast/) Twitter Handle @CasualBirderPod Instagram Handle @Casualbirderpodcast Freya McGregor links https://www.audubon.org/news/its-time-redefine-birding (https://www.audubon.org/news/its-time-redefine-birding) Website https://www.birdability.org/ (https://www.birdability.org/) Email info@birdability.org Facebook https://www.facebook.com/birdability (https://www.facebook.com/birdability) Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/386227102749125 (https://www.facebook.com/groups/386227102749125) Twitter Handle @birdability Instagram Handle @birdability All music by Tony ZA https://soundcloud.com/tonyofficialza (https://soundcloud.com/tonyofficialza)

2142 Birdability (Oct. 13, 2021) Show Notes Birdability is an organization whose mission is to make birding accessible to all. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Freya McGregor, Birdability Coordinator and Occupational Therapist, and Michael Hurben, avid birder with vision loss, about the organization and how anyone can enjoy birding and the wonderful outdoors … Continue reading 2142 Birdability (Oct. 13, 2021) →

This episode we discuss the upcoming Birdability week and how everyone can get involved. Then, John takes us through his Big Day adventure on the Golden Isles of Georgia. Savannah KOA List - https://ebird.org/checklist/S96092202 Goulds Inlet List - https://ebird.org/checklist/S96107262 Jekyll Welcome Center List - https://ebird.org/checklist/S96114153 Clam Creek List - https://ebird.org/checklist/S96118728 To contact John - t63john2@gmail.com or Instagram @jharty_bigyear --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/john-harty/support

“Conservation, Education, Fascination” is usually what we say here at The Birdy Bunch, but we also stand for something else: Inclusion! This week we chat with Virgina Rose and Freya McGregor of Birdability to #BirdabilityWeek and all things inclusion in nature! In addition, Matt shares some spooky stories about moths, CJ mentions the idea of bringing mammoths back from extinction, and Brittany features a creature who is birdy while also sporting some sweet sneakers on their face. We had a fun time with this episode, and know you'll have a fun time listening! Make sure to check out our merch store and use the code ‘SPOOKY' fore 15% off your entire order!   Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro        03:16 - Creature Feature             05:33 - Current Events      21:29 - #BirdabilityWeek with Virginia Rose and Freya McGregor      41:15 - Outro         Thank you to Sarah Dunlap - for designing our logo, Elliot Heye - for being our Writing and Production Assistant, and Conner Wittman - for producing our music. Visit www.thebirdybunchpodcast.com for more information.

Freya and Virginia tell Hannah and Erik all about Birdability, whose mission is to share the joys of birding with people who have disabilities, and to ensure birding is accessible for everybody.Also...September #BirdNerdGiveaway: share with us how birding has benefitted your mind, body, or soul. Bird Nerd Giveaway: 7:45Main Story at: 16:50Show notesGlobal Bird WeekendGarbanotas PelikanasBirdabilityOrnitherapyIntro Bird Call: Yellow-breasted Chat (Recorded August 2021, Arizona)Outro Bird Call: Bell's Vireo (Recorded August 2021, Arizona)Connect with us at...IG: @Hannahgoesbirding and @Erikgoesbirding Twitter: @WeGoBirding Facebook: @HannahandErikGoBirding Email us at HannahandErikGoBirding@gmail.com Website: http://www.gobirdingpodcast.com

This episode, I talk to Marcia OBara, a retired RN who recently pursued a big year. She tells us about what she'd do differently on another Big Year, about her birdability field trips and what a supercilium is. 

Get a load of this nature lovers! It's another double-guest episode! We invited back Freya McGregor of Birdability and Christa Legrande-Rolls of Birding Tools to come back and chat about The Biggest Week in American Birding! In addition, CJ brings up some cool studies of Red-winged Blackbirds, Jon talks about some unexpected ecosystem engineers, and Matt features the beautiful Golden-winged Warbler. You can follow Christa @birdingtools on Instagram and Facebook and you can follow Freya @birdability on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter! Be sure to follow us @thebirdybunchpodcast on Instagram and Facebook for updates on Season 2 and so much more!   Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro        02:49 - Creature Feature             09:18 - Current Events             27:16 - The Biggest Week In American Birding with Freya McGregor & Christa Rolls 01:05:31 - Wrapping It Up Segment         Thank you to Sarah Dunlap, for designing our logo, and Writing and Production Assistant Elliot Heye.

Episode 029 | Virginia Rose (Founder + President: Birdability) joins the podcast. Birdability is a non-profit that works to ensure birding and the outdoors are welcoming, inclusive, safe and accessible for everybody. To learn more about birdability, visit: birdability.org | To find an accessible birding location near you, visit: audubon.org/birdability | For more episodes + podcast content, visit: seethroughpod.com

This week on The Birdy Bunch Podcast, we have our first ever episode with not one, but two special guests! We speak with Freya McGregor and Virginia Rose from Birdability, a non-profit organization that's spreading the word about accessibility challenges when it comes to birding and being out in nature. You can hear more about this episode and others by following us @thebirdybunchpodcast on Instagram and Facebook! Special thanks to Russ Wigh for White Breasted Nuthatch audio. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro        02:06 - Creature Feature             07:58 - Current Events             19:16 - Accessibility in Nature with Freya McGregor and Virginia Rose of Birdability 52:42 - Outro         Thank you to Sarah Dunlap, for designing our logo, and Writing and Production Assistant Elliot Heye.