_{^{Alexandra Wang (aka Avian Alex), NYC Bird Alliance tour leader. Photo: Kim Dramer}}

By Alexandra Wang, M.S. Ed | December 12, 2024

People of all abilities can and should participate in birding. My mission is to enhance and enrich experiences in order to create a more inclusive New York City birding public. 

As a NYC Bird Alliance guide, I use my training and experience as a school counselor to make my tours accessible to all. Being familiar with notoriously tight school budgets, I’ve learned that small enhancements can make a big difference to learning and success for students. I try to do the same for my birding tours in New York City’s parks, tailoring my tours using various tactics and mechanisms to create more inclusive experiences. The results have been the ability to welcome a more diverse population, as well as cultivate a heightened sense of community and connection to our parks among participants.

I initially chose Fort Tryon Park, a wonderful location with flat paths that are well maintained and marked with low fences and walls. Several of my tour participants have generously allowed me to share their stories with readers of The Urban Bird Call.

“I thought Alex was kidding when she suggested that we go to the park,” offers Eilyn Vargas, who is legally blind. “I asked her how a blind person could do birdwatching. When Alex explained the difference between birdwatching and birding, I began to understand that I could be an active participant in birding.” 

I showed Eilyn how stuffed bird plushies can be used to enhance birding experiences for participants with visual differences. The squeeze toys emit a limited, but often realistic, bird communication. Participants with visual differences learn the birds’ communication and basic structures. 

 “The bird plushies gave me an auditory and tactile experience,” Eilyn says. “It was fun to squeeze the toys and hear their calls. They gave me a very good idea of how the birds sounded and communicated with each other. Many people with limited vision rely upon sound to make sense of the world around them. I learned that this was an asset to birding.”

Eilyn liked the Ruby-throated Hummingbird and American Goldfinch plushies the most. “I could also feel their basic structures, for example, the long beak on the ruby-throated hummingbird plushie,” she explains.

The plushies assisted Eilyn to make connections to bird behaviors that she could not observe. Continues Eilyn: “When Alex described the hummingbirds’ feeding habits and preference for tube-like flowers, I could understand the way the hummingbirds use their long beaks to collect nectar. That made their ability to hover, which Alex explained, make sense to me.” 

She concludes: “Alex introduced me to beautiful things in the park that were previously unknown and inaccessible to me. I am now a NYC birder interested in peak migrations and new sightings in the Bronx where I live, as well as city-wide activities and initiatives by NYC Bird Alliance to keep our bird population safe and thriving.”

Felix Garmendia is an HIV+ survivor and has Inclusion Body Myositis. Felix is a quadriplegic and negotiates space differently from most people. He uses his wheelchair, named Purple Raven, to participate in birding tour.

Felix is a poet and activist in the LGBTQ+ disability movement. His book of poetry, Flying on Invisible Wings, makes frequent use of bird imagery in poems where he soars above the landscape, as well as the challenges he encounters in life. 

Felix and his husband, Denis Beale, live near Fort Tryon Park, which they visit frequently. But, joining a birding tour was an activity that the couple considered “off limits” due to physical challenges. 

Felix and Denis were provided with a lightweight pair of binoculars. But the birds often flew away before Denis could adjust these to Felix’s eyes. Felix found that he was able to have longer and closer engagement when using the bird plushies. 

“As a disabled man, the bird plushies allowed me to connect with the birds on my own terms,” he explains. “On birding tours, I also encountered my neighbors. These encounters and shared experiences enhanced my connection with the park and the local birding community. Birding isn’t just birds; it’s also people sharing experiences and a beautiful day in the park.” 

Felix continues: “I always thought of birds as being too difficult to see as they were high up in trees or flying high in the sky. Alex pointed out birds in bushes along the pathways in the park. I was stunned when we found low-lying nests right off pathways. We all promised not to reveal where these were located for the safety of the birds. It was a beautiful secret from a beautiful day.”

Ahra Sung, a birder from Queens with autism, explains that people with autism often develop passionate interests that last a lifetime. Her passion for birding was awakened when she joined one of my accessible birding tours and found her enthusiasm was welcomed by fellow birders. 

As a team, Ahra and I decided that she use bird plushies for sensory input to help regulate her excitement during tours. People with autism respond differently to sensory input and have different sensory needs. They have different ways of expressing themselves and socializing with others. Going to new places, meeting new people, being in crowds, and enthusiasm can cause over-excitement and stimulation. By stroking a plushie, Ahra was able to calm herself and address increased movement and loud talking so that she and other birders could enjoy birding together. 

“People accepted my enthusiasm when sighting birds in the park,” Ahra says. “They saw that I was trying to regulate my behavior. By petting my American goldfinch plushie, I was able to calm myself to the point that my fellow birders did not feel that my excitement was out of place, or that I was a disturbance.” 

The bird plushies also enhanced her experience with birding, because she could make the connection between the bird plushies to the birds in the park: “I felt an immediate connection between myself and the living birds by petting the plushie, she offers. “The physical likeness I was holding in my hands was a bridge to the birds we saw flying overhead.” 

A gifted visual artist who loves anime, Ahra is currently using her talent to draw cartoons of birds labeled with their calls and songs. She hopes to publish these illustrations so that people with disabilities will learn how to recognize bird calls and songs.

As a York College (CUNY) alumna with an MS in Pharmaceutical Science and Business, Ahra’s favorite bird is the York College mascot, the Northern Cardinal, whose song is commonly rendered as Cheer! Cheer! Cheer! 

“Birding has not only opened up my world, but also allowed me to help open up the world for others through my illustrations,” she says proudly. 

Participants range in all abilities and ages during accessible birding tours. David Schalk, age 88, has been a birder for well over half a century. He was formerly active as a volunteer for Massachusetts Audubon Society.

David uses a walker for stability along the flat paths assisting him to enjoy his experience during birding tours in the Heather Garden of Fort Tryon Park. He shares stories from his own birding experience with other birders, which helps to cement camaraderie among the group members. 

“I’m delighted to share my past birding experiences with others,” he explains. “I have decades of experience, and some great birding stories from around the world. I’m happy to share them with my fellow birders.”

Jane Spielman, who has recently undergone a cornea transplant in one eye, has also been a regular participant on my accessible birding tours. Her limited vision often challenges her ability to enjoy the birds that we encounter on tours. While the bird plushies have assisted her in identifying some of the birds on the tour, Jane especially enjoys looking at enhanced photos of the birds posted online after the tours have concluded. 

After a tour, I send an email to all participants who have provided me with their email address on the NYC Bird Alliance tour sign-up sheet. In the email, I provide a list of birds that were seen and their numbers, along with photos I captured during the tour. Participants can enlarge and enhance the photos on their own computer at home, catching up on sightings that escaped them on the tour, and enlarging the photos to see details that they may have missed. 

“It’s like my own private tour,” offers Jane. “I go at my own pace, I enjoy being with the birds again, and I love the beautiful images that Alex captured during our time together. And I do it all in my own office whenever I wish.”

People with disabilities are one of the fastest-growing groups of our population. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around one out of every six people worldwide has at least one disability. However, accessibility and inclusion in New York City birding are still in their initial stages. 

One such NYC initiative still being ironed out is Access-A-Ride, a service providing city-wide transportation for people with disabilities throughout the five boroughs. Many people with disabilities have encountered issues with late pick-ups, incorrect addresses, or lack of awareness from drivers in dealing with people with disabilities. Riders are relying on drivers to negotiate locations they might not be familiar with. But, participants explain, it’s a start, allowing them to arrive at scheduled NYC Bird Alliance tours throughout the City. 

Accessible birding assists all New Yorkers to enjoy the amazing richness and diversity of both birds and people in our city. We New Yorkers are a resourceful bunch; but we are not taking full advantage of our fabulous parks and their wildlife. 

A recent review of findings across social and health sciences by environmental psychologist Gregory Bratman published in Audubon magazine concludes: “Contact with nature benefits our mood, our psychological well-being, our mental health, and our cognitive functioning.” More accessible birding opportunities by NYC Bird Alliance means building a stronger community and better public health for all New Yorkers.