Corina Newsome is an enthusiastic birder and biologist (photo by Katherine Arntzen). The Black Birders Week logo for #BlackWomenWhoBird (design by Chelsea Connor and Sheridan Alford). Ayanna Browne in search of soaring birds in the peaceful outdoors.

“I’m so happy for #BlackBirdersWeek and happy to see that I’m not alone. Listening to and watching birds gives me peace and inspiration,” birder N. Fontane commented on Twitter at #BlackBirdersWeek. Ayanna Browne also shared “The outdoors bring me peace, and as much as I love the animals on the ground, the ones that soar the sky peak my interest more and more. Raptors are my new love. Wading birds are awesome. Songbirds are beautiful.” And Georgia birder Sheridan Alford shared: “Please don’t dismiss talk about the black birding experience as ‘political’.”

The idea for Black Birders Week grew out of a group chat among more than 100 black outdoor enthusiasts that provided a forum for participants to connect with one another, post photos, and ask questions from anywhere in the world. The organizers – a group of black birders, biologists, and friends – described this event as the first of many that will form a springboard to shape a more diverse racial future within birding, conservation, and the natural sciences.

Since then, news coverage across the spectrum of birding and conservation organizations poured in from sources such as websites, Twitter, and Facebook that have provided food for thought and discussions among birders, and bird-oriented organizations with a positive and understandable interest and appreciation.

Many birders and biologists have long been dismayed about the relatively few minorities among our birding legions and have tried to attract more minority participants. Therefore, this may be an important win-win opportunity as birders of color find a voice and, hopefully, a greater participation and leadership from minorities. Black Birders Week communications have certainly been positive, productive, and invigorating for us all – and they continue!

Although Black Birders Week ended June 5th, the sharing and interacting continues and undoubtedly will grow in productive and impressive ways. Communications are key and there have been a wealth of positive experiences shared to help everyone understand the interests, enjoyment, as well as any concerns of black birders and others.

We hope you will be interested in reviewing all or some of the information provided below, and we expect this outreach will continue to bring more minority birders and biologists to the forefront and increase the popularity of birding as the wonderful activity it is, in all its ways, to so many people.

The Twitter feed is an excellent introduction to Black Birders Week and related sharing, information, and discussions that continue at https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlackBirdersWeek

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology provided a good introduction to the Black Birders Week at

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/5-key-lessons-to-take-home-from-the-first-blackbirdersweek/

Audubon’s Facebook site provides excellent, insightful video discussions titled Birding While Black – candid video conversations among panels of black birders who share their stories of discovering birds and unique experiences of birding while black in America. There are two video sessions you’re sure to enjoy, with Session 1 at https://www.facebook.com/NationalAudubonSociety/videos/599256750697358/ and Session 2 at https://www.facebook.com/NationalAudubonSociety/videos/250698879684486/

An initial short article by Audubon provides a short introduction to the initial birding-related interaction in Central Park that brought the “birding while black” conversation to the forefront; see https://www.audubon.org/news/audubon-statement-incident-central-parks-ramble

It was followed by a California Audubon article that introduced Black Birders Week at https://www.audubon.org/news/black-birders-week-promotes-diversity-and-takes-racism-outdoors?site=ca&nid=4416

Sierra Club’s interview with Jason Ward, one of the founders of Black Birders Week and host of “Birds of North America” on YouTube is provided at https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/birding-while-black Jason Ward’s video episodes of “Birds of North America” can be viewed on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FvoppCDT1k&list=PLZVnnAt5_5lbqaQNNg-LEPwdRbj_nf5hU

Appearing in Science, the publication of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, is an insightful interview with Corina Newsome, a graduate student studying Seaside Sparrows and one of the many organizers of #BlackBirdersWeek at https://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2020/06/i-cant-even-enjoy-blackbirdersweek-organizer-shares-her-struggles-black-scientist

The recent American Birding Podcast also featured a monolog by podcast host Nate Swick before his David Sibley interview. To listen, visit the American Birding Association website at https://www.aba.org/what-its-like-to-be-a-bird-with-david-sibley/ or access it on Apple Podcasts at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/american-birding-podcast/id1186824033?mt=2

The American Birding Association also has an interesting interview with J. Drew Lanham, a former ABA Board member and author of the book, The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature, which won the 2017 Southern Book Prize. You can access the Birding interview at https://www.aba.org/lanham-interview/

Share your birding sightings and photos at editorstbw2@gmail.com