While I’ve been birdwatching for a long time, this year I’ve also enjoyed sharing birding with others. So for my birthday, I’m inviting my friends and family to join me outside throughout the month. In May I’ll be hosting several birding walks people can join, and doing a Birdathon fundraiser! You can join a walk, bird on your own during Global Big Day, or donate to support conservation. My hope is to make this accessible to as many people as possible, so if you’ve never gone birdwatching, I’d encourage you to join. This is open to anyone, even a birding-curious friend of yours I’ve never met, so all are welcome.

Birding Dates

I’m planning four primary dates where you can join me birding, each with a different focus. If you would like to participate, I would love to hear from you. Reaching out will help me plan any logistics, ensure I can share any last-minute details, and give me more to look forward to. Here are the dates to be aware of.

  • Sunday May 3rd: Birding in Oceanside with my church
  • Saturday May 9th: Global Big Day and my Birdathon fundraiser
  • Saturday May 16th: Birding in Connecticut
  • Monday May 25th: Memorial Day Birding and Meal in North San Diego County
Two scrappy looking doves in a flowering tree
I found these young doves walking around my neighborhood this year.

After-Church Birding

I’ve talked about birds so many times at church that I think I convinced people that birds are interesting. So on Sunday May 3rd, we’ll be getting together after church to find some birds. This wasn’t planned around my birthday but it ended up kicking off the month so I’m including it here. The plan is to bring some picnic food to Hosp Grove Park, take a little time to eat, and then walk around the park to see what we find. This will be primarily for people from Grace and Peace Church but our church is open to everyone and so is this event.

Global Big Day and Birdathon

On May 9th, I will be participating in a 24-hour Birdathon. Think of it like a walkathon, but for bird species: I’ll be trying to see as many as I can in one day. Even though distance isn’t the goal, I will be driving all over the county that Saturday looking for birds, so I won’t be hosting an in-person event that day. But you can still participate by doing your own birding and by donating.

In fact, people all over the world will be birding that Saturday. I’ve planned my birdathon to line up with a World Migratory Bird Day and The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s designated Global Big Day. These are annual celebrations of birds, and the host organizations encourage people to track what birds they saw in giant community science efforts. Last year, people saw more than 7,900 species in a single day. So I’m encouraging you to join me this Saturday wherever you are to look for birds. Whether you are tracking on eBird.org or just taking 5 minutes to pay attention to what birds you notice, I’d love to see a picture of you and/or what you find.

I’d also love if you supported me on May 9th by donating to my fundraiser in support of the San Diego Bird Alliance. Donating per-species is a way to challenge me to find more. If you are curious how that works, see below for more info.

Birding in Connecticut

A week later, I’ll be hosting an in-person birding walk in central Connecticut. I already have several young family members who will be joining so I’m excited to see what birds we can find together. This event will be on Saturday May 16th at Machimoodus State Park in Moodus. If you will be in the area and interested in joining, please reach out so I can let you know what time we’ll be starting.

Memorial Day Birding and Meal

Finally, I’ll be hosting one last birding trip for friends in North County San Diego on Memorial Day. In the afternoon we’ll get together at a park, do some birding, and afterwards we will go to a nearby restaurant for food. My hope is that it will be a relaxed, enjoyable event for everyone. You’re welcome to come hang out on the trail in the park and/or come to eat depending on your schedule. We will be birding at Batiquitos Lagoon on the south side of Carlsbad and then eating at the Windmill Food Hall. If you are interested in coming to bird and/or to grab dinner, please let me know and I can send you the details.

Sticker of a woodpecker with the text 'San Diego Birdathon 2026 San Diego Bird Alliance'
My sticker from the bird festival

Birdathon Fundraiser

The San Diego birdathon is an event where teams or individuals try to find as many species as they can in a 24-hour window in support of the San Diego Bird Alliance’s conservation, education, and advocacy efforts benefiting endangered birds and habitats. If you were thinking of buying me a birthday gift, I’d actually prefer a donation instead. You can either donate a fixed amount or per bird species I see. Donating per-species makes it a bit more fun for me. If you would like to donate to my fundraiser, check out my campaign page.

Donate Learn More

If donating per-species, you can choose fractional dollars so even $0.50/bird makes it a more exciting event for me. The Bird Alliance is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization if that helps your taxes. All donations are due by May 31st.

How many species will I see? I don’t know! Assuming the weather cooperates, I’m fairly confident I can find 50 species. But I would like to go further. For context, during the bird festival, it took me 5 days and the help of other experienced birders to reach 100 species. So I’d be really happy to hit 75. After I wrap up for the day, I’ll count up all the species to determine the total I raise.

If you donate to the campaign, I’ll also send out a few updates about my progress so you can hear how it went. I’m planning a long, exciting day with multiple locations, so I should have some interesting stories. It may take me a couple days to finalize all my lists, but after that I’ll have a full count on my eBird trip page so you can see where I went and find the exact species I saw.

Birding Starter Tips

I plan on writing a longer post with some birding tips, but if you’re wondering what you need to go birding I’ll keep it simple. You don’t need anything special! You can bird just with your eyes and ears and see what you notice. However, if you want to make it more enjoyable, here are some things to consider.

  • Birding is often like a slow hike, so it helps to wear something comfortable for walking outside and for sun protection, like a hat and sunscreen.
  • If you have them, bring binoculars or a camera with a good zoom lens. If not, you’ll still be able to see plenty with your eyes alone or by borrowing someone else’s.
  • Download the Merlin App to help you identify birds.
  • Focus on what you find interesting! Vibrant colors? Close encounters? Cool raptors? Birdwatching is different for everyone.

I hope at the very least this encourages you to go birding sometime soon. I love it because it gets me out in nature, brings me joy and excitement, and I learn new things all the time about the avian world that’s happening all around us. Whether you join me in person, go birding yourself, or donate to the San Diego Bird Alliance, it would really help make my birthday special this year.