BBC’s new Code of Ethics and Conduct
If you are involved with the Brookline Bird Club, we know that you have a great love for and appreciation of birds and nature. The BBC is committed to providing programs in which all participants have a safe and welcoming space to explore their own personal connection to birds and nature.
In keeping with this commitment, the BBC board thought it was time to take a fresh look at our Code of Ethics and Conduct and Trip Leader Guidelines. The resulting updates emphasize the importance of respect for birds, the environment, and for each other.
The board has also formed a Committee on Community and Culture that will assist the club in working toward its mission of building a more diverse, more welcoming community and a culture of inclusion and respect. To learn more about our work or to get involved, please contact the committee at community@brooklinebirdclub.org.
Across Massachusetts and the country, the birding community is moving forward with a new focus on programming that is more accessible to all who want to enjoy nature and policy that promotes safety and inclusion. The BBC is excited to be part of that movement!
We recommend following resources to learn more and get involved. If you have meaningful resources you would like us to add to this list, please let us know!
Resources on safer bird watching:
Safety Tips For Better Birding
The Murmuration, a crowd-sourced document of eBird hotspots in Massachusetts, including information on safety concerns.
Further reading on inclusivity in birding and nature:
It’s Time to Build a Truly Inclusive Outdoors, Corina Newsome (Audubon Magazine, Summer 2020)
Birds are Here for Everyone: How Black Birders are Finding Community, Aliya Uteuova, (The Guardian, June 2021)
Murmuration is the Movement: Panelists discuss diversity in birding, Jon Stinchcomb (Port Clinton News Herald, May 2021)
Birding While Black, J. Drew Lanham (Literary Hub, September 2016)
How to be a Welcoming and Inclusive Birder, (Ray Brown’s Talkin’ Birds)
Creating Safe Spaces: Promoting more-inclusive experiences for all (National Wildlife Federation, August 2021)
Organizations to check out and consider supporting:
BBC 2020 Winter Meeting: Scott Weidensaul
Return to Wild America: A Yearlong Search for the Continent’s Natural Soul In 1955, naturalists Roger Tory Peterson and James Fisher published their bestselling book Wild America, chronicling a now-legendary 30,000-mile trip across
Fundraising Effort to Memorialize Ida (update)
Ida at Plum Island, undated. The Board of Directors is pleased to announce 73 donations were received totaling $5,615 which far exceeded the goal set. 100% of the funds will go to
Closure of Hellcat Trail @ Parker River NWR
The Hellcat Trail at Parker River National Wildlife Refuge is closed to all public access effective Monday, December 23, 2019 in order to facilitate replacement of the entire boardwalk system that supports the trail. The
Winter Birding on Cape Ann
seen above: Stage Fort Park by Fitz Henry Lane Dovekie at Gloucester Harbor by Phil Brown About once a week, from November into March, the BBC offers field trips to Gloucester and/or
Remembering Bill Drummond
We lost legendary and much-loved trip leader, Bill Drummond, 76, on October 30, 2019. Bill Drummond was a cornerstone and driving force behind the success of the Brookline Bird Club for many years. He served
Looking for new Membership Secretary!
The Brookline Bird Club is looking for a new Membership Secretary for April 2020 to replace our current secretary, Judy Hepburn, who is standing down at the end of her term. Judy has done
BBC 2020 Winter Meeting: Scott Weidensaul
Return to Wild America: A Yearlong Search for the Continent’s Natural Soul In 1955, naturalists Roger Tory Peterson and James Fisher published their bestselling book Wild America, chronicling a now-legendary 30,000-mile trip across
Fundraising Effort to Memorialize Ida (update)
Ida at Plum Island, undated. The Board of Directors is pleased to announce 73 donations were received totaling $5,615 which far exceeded the goal set. 100% of the funds will go to
Closure of Hellcat Trail @ Parker River NWR
The Hellcat Trail at Parker River National Wildlife Refuge is closed to all public access effective Monday, December 23, 2019 in order to facilitate replacement of the entire boardwalk system that supports the trail. The
Winter Birding on Cape Ann
seen above: Stage Fort Park by Fitz Henry Lane Dovekie at Gloucester Harbor by Phil Brown About once a week, from November into March, the BBC offers field trips to Gloucester and/or
Remembering Bill Drummond
We lost legendary and much-loved trip leader, Bill Drummond, 76, on October 30, 2019. Bill Drummond was a cornerstone and driving force behind the success of the Brookline Bird Club for many years. He served
Looking for new Membership Secretary!
The Brookline Bird Club is looking for a new Membership Secretary for April 2020 to replace our current secretary, Judy Hepburn, who is standing down at the end of her term. Judy has done
BBC 2020 Winter Meeting: Scott Weidensaul
Return to Wild America: A Yearlong Search for the Continent’s Natural Soul In 1955, naturalists Roger Tory Peterson and James Fisher published their bestselling book Wild America, chronicling a now-legendary 30,000-mile trip across
Fundraising Effort to Memorialize Ida (update)
Ida at Plum Island, undated. The Board of Directors is pleased to announce 73 donations were received totaling $5,615 which far exceeded the goal set. 100% of the funds will go to
Closure of Hellcat Trail @ Parker River NWR
The Hellcat Trail at Parker River National Wildlife Refuge is closed to all public access effective Monday, December 23, 2019 in order to facilitate replacement of the entire boardwalk system that supports the trail. The
Winter Birding on Cape Ann
seen above: Stage Fort Park by Fitz Henry Lane Dovekie at Gloucester Harbor by Phil Brown About once a week, from November into March, the BBC offers field trips to Gloucester and/or
Remembering Bill Drummond
We lost legendary and much-loved trip leader, Bill Drummond, 76, on October 30, 2019. Bill Drummond was a cornerstone and driving force behind the success of the Brookline Bird Club for many years. He served
Looking for new Membership Secretary!
The Brookline Bird Club is looking for a new Membership Secretary for April 2020 to replace our current secretary, Judy Hepburn, who is standing down at the end of her term. Judy has done
News Categories
Upcoming Field Trips
Field Trips / Events
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RESCHEDULED to April 16 Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Concord RESCHEDULED
Concord - Great Meadows Concord Unit, Entrance Rd, Concord, MA, United StatesDue to weather, this trip is rescheduled to April 16.
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Fruitlands Museum, Harvard
Harvard - Fruitlands Museum 102 Prospect Hill Rd., Harvard, MA, United StatesCosponsored with Boxborough Birders. We will look for local avian non-migratory species and early migrant arrivals. Expect to walk about two miles on trails through meadows and woods, with some steep sections. Prepare for ticks. We will bird at the meeting location for about 30 minutes so any latecomers can catch up.
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Westborough WMA in Two Parts
Northborough - Watson Park, Bartlett Pond 35A Lyman St, Northborough, MA, United StatesPart 1: 7 AM -10 AM / Part 2: 10:30 AM -1:00 PM. We will hike at a slow pace through mild moderate trails in search of sparrows and other migrants. For the first part we will hike the Eastern trails between Lake Chauncy and Little Chauncy(about 3 miles). Then we will again meet at
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Belle Isle Marsh and Vicinity
East Boston - Belle Isle Parking Lot 1399 Bennington Street, Boston, MA, United StatesLed by DCR staff. We will search on foot up to one mile on flat, easy terrain, for migrating or resident songbirds, raptors, shorebirds, and marsh birds at this birding hotspot and state park. This is a traveling program by car or bike. Prepare for ticks and mosquitoes. Ages: Adults and kids 8 years+ with
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Millennium Park
Boston - Millennium Park Canoe Launch 300 Gardner Street, Boston, MA, United StatesJoin us to observe resident birds and spring migrants in a unique urban habitat that is a favorite for many bird species, including uncommon and rare flycatchers, swallows & warblers. Birders of all levels welcome. The trails are generally flat and easy to walk, with some rough patches. A water bottle, sunblock, insect repellent, waterproof