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:
ANNUAL REPORT 2022
The Brookline Bird Club (BBC) recorded 276 species for 2022, based upon 204 reported trips. Of those, 264 species were recorded in Massachusetts, with 12 additional species reported from the out-of-state trips to New Hampshire [...]
ANNUAL REPORT 2021
Brookline Bird Club 2021 Statistical and Year-End Report By David Scott, Club Statistician The Brookline Bird Club recorded 270 species for 2021, based upon 206 reported trips. Two-hundred and sixty-five species were recorded in Massachusetts, [...]
Renew membership now!
Calling all BBC members - annual memberships expire December 31st 2024. Renew today for the 2025 calendar year to continue uninterrupted access to member benefits including our blue book mailings, member webinars, and more! Membership [...]
2024-2025 Duck Stamps on Sale
The BBC is selling the Federal Migratory Bird Conservation and Hunting Stamp, also known as the Duck Stamp, through February 15. The current Stamp is good from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025. We [...]
The BBC Thanks Vortex and Zeiss!
The Brookline Bird Club would like to thank Vortex and Zeiss Optics for repairing or replacing donated binoculars in the club’s loaner box at no charge. Vortex offers an unusual unlimited warranty and promptly replaced [...]
Eastern MA Christmas Bird Count Information
The 125th Christmas bird count season begins December 14. We encourage you to participate in this citizen science effort. Please note that the count week for each Xmas count includes the three days before and [...]
ANNUAL REPORT 2022
The Brookline Bird Club (BBC) recorded 276 species for 2022, based upon 204 reported trips. Of those, 264 species were recorded in Massachusetts, with 12 additional species reported from the out-of-state trips to New Hampshire [...]
ANNUAL REPORT 2021
Brookline Bird Club 2021 Statistical and Year-End Report By David Scott, Club Statistician The Brookline Bird Club recorded 270 species for 2021, based upon 206 reported trips. Two-hundred and sixty-five species were recorded in Massachusetts, [...]
Renew membership now!
Calling all BBC members - annual memberships expire December 31st 2024. Renew today for the 2025 calendar year to continue uninterrupted access to member benefits including our blue book mailings, member webinars, and more! Membership [...]
2024-2025 Duck Stamps on Sale
The BBC is selling the Federal Migratory Bird Conservation and Hunting Stamp, also known as the Duck Stamp, through February 15. The current Stamp is good from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025. We [...]
The BBC Thanks Vortex and Zeiss!
The Brookline Bird Club would like to thank Vortex and Zeiss Optics for repairing or replacing donated binoculars in the club’s loaner box at no charge. Vortex offers an unusual unlimited warranty and promptly replaced [...]
Eastern MA Christmas Bird Count Information
The 125th Christmas bird count season begins December 14. We encourage you to participate in this citizen science effort. Please note that the count week for each Xmas count includes the three days before and [...]
ANNUAL REPORT 2022
The Brookline Bird Club (BBC) recorded 276 species for 2022, based upon 204 reported trips. Of those, 264 species were recorded in Massachusetts, with 12 additional species reported from the out-of-state trips to New Hampshire [...]
ANNUAL REPORT 2021
Brookline Bird Club 2021 Statistical and Year-End Report By David Scott, Club Statistician The Brookline Bird Club recorded 270 species for 2021, based upon 206 reported trips. Two-hundred and sixty-five species were recorded in Massachusetts, [...]
Renew membership now!
Calling all BBC members - annual memberships expire December 31st 2024. Renew today for the 2025 calendar year to continue uninterrupted access to member benefits including our blue book mailings, member webinars, and more! Membership [...]
2024-2025 Duck Stamps on Sale
The BBC is selling the Federal Migratory Bird Conservation and Hunting Stamp, also known as the Duck Stamp, through February 15. The current Stamp is good from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025. We [...]
The BBC Thanks Vortex and Zeiss!
The Brookline Bird Club would like to thank Vortex and Zeiss Optics for repairing or replacing donated binoculars in the club’s loaner box at no charge. Vortex offers an unusual unlimited warranty and promptly replaced [...]
Eastern MA Christmas Bird Count Information
The 125th Christmas bird count season begins December 14. We encourage you to participate in this citizen science effort. Please note that the count week for each Xmas count includes the three days before and [...]
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Upcoming Field Trips
Horn Pond, Woburn
Let's look for early Spring migrants such as Eastern Phoebe, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Field Sparrow, and early warblers such as Palm, Pine, and Yellow-rumped. We will be hiking up the mountain so please wear appropriate footwear. Co-sponsored with the Menotomy Bird Club.
Crooked Pond RESCHEDULED to Sunday, April 6
This trip has been rescheduled to Sunday, April 6.
Fruitlands Museum, Harvard
Co-sponsored with Boxborough Birders. We will look for resident species including Indigo Bunting, Savannah Sparrow, Hermit Thrush, Scarlet Tanager, Veery, Blue-headed Vireo, Wild Turkey, American Kestrel, and a variety of warblers. Expect to walk about two miles on trails through meadows and woods, with some steep sections. Prepare for ticks. We will bird at the [...]
Belle Isle Marsh and Vicinity
Led 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 [...]
Woodcocks of Rock Meadow
Belmont - Rock Meadow 300 Mill St, Belmont, MA, United StatesCome enjoy the warming evenings at scenic Rock Meadow, which each year plays host to courting American Woodcocks, with the males engaging in their spiraling sky-dance flights above the fields.