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:
Save the Date – Members Showcase February 8
We have been tracking the Snow predicted to spread over the Boston area Saturday evening. Right now it appears that snow will not start before 9PM,SO WE ARE GOING AHEAD WITH BBC MEMBERS NIGHT.Please keep [...]
Fri Oct 25 Fall meeting!
The Brookline Bird Club invites you to our Hybrid (Live+Zoom) Fall Meeting on Friday October 25, 2024 from 7pm-9pm, with a social hour beginning at 6:30pm. It will feature a presentation on the dazzling Resplendent Quetzal you [...]
Blue Book Survey
Are you a BBC Member? Do you have 5 minutes? Tell us what you think about the Blue Book! We want to hear your input on our Brookline Bird Club Bulletins, mailed to members each [...]
BBC 7 Seas Whale Watch Trip Report
Brookline Bird Club’s 7 Seas Whale Watch Trip Report, 2024 Photo: Black Guillemot, Johnny Owens On a beautiful Saturday morning July 27, 46 club members and friends boarded the 7 Seas sailing vessel Privateer IV out [...]
BBC 2024 trips to Lake Umbagog, NH
Brookline Bird Club’s 2024 Trips to the Lake Umbagog, NH Region - In early June two groups of BBC members had the opportunity to explore the region near Lake Umbagog in northern New Hampshire. We [...]
Celebrating Black Birders Week!
Celebrate Black Birders Week Sunday May 26 - Saturday June 1, 2024 Black Birders Week is a week-long series of virtual and in-person events to promote equitable access to nature, to highlight Black nature enthusiasts, and to increase [...]
Save the Date – Members Showcase February 8
We have been tracking the Snow predicted to spread over the Boston area Saturday evening. Right now it appears that snow will not start before 9PM,SO WE ARE GOING AHEAD WITH BBC MEMBERS NIGHT.Please keep [...]
Fri Oct 25 Fall meeting!
The Brookline Bird Club invites you to our Hybrid (Live+Zoom) Fall Meeting on Friday October 25, 2024 from 7pm-9pm, with a social hour beginning at 6:30pm. It will feature a presentation on the dazzling Resplendent Quetzal you [...]
Blue Book Survey
Are you a BBC Member? Do you have 5 minutes? Tell us what you think about the Blue Book! We want to hear your input on our Brookline Bird Club Bulletins, mailed to members each [...]
BBC 7 Seas Whale Watch Trip Report
Brookline Bird Club’s 7 Seas Whale Watch Trip Report, 2024 Photo: Black Guillemot, Johnny Owens On a beautiful Saturday morning July 27, 46 club members and friends boarded the 7 Seas sailing vessel Privateer IV out [...]
BBC 2024 trips to Lake Umbagog, NH
Brookline Bird Club’s 2024 Trips to the Lake Umbagog, NH Region - In early June two groups of BBC members had the opportunity to explore the region near Lake Umbagog in northern New Hampshire. We [...]
Celebrating Black Birders Week!
Celebrate Black Birders Week Sunday May 26 - Saturday June 1, 2024 Black Birders Week is a week-long series of virtual and in-person events to promote equitable access to nature, to highlight Black nature enthusiasts, and to increase [...]
Save the Date – Members Showcase February 8
We have been tracking the Snow predicted to spread over the Boston area Saturday evening. Right now it appears that snow will not start before 9PM,SO WE ARE GOING AHEAD WITH BBC MEMBERS NIGHT.Please keep [...]
Fri Oct 25 Fall meeting!
The Brookline Bird Club invites you to our Hybrid (Live+Zoom) Fall Meeting on Friday October 25, 2024 from 7pm-9pm, with a social hour beginning at 6:30pm. It will feature a presentation on the dazzling Resplendent Quetzal you [...]
Blue Book Survey
Are you a BBC Member? Do you have 5 minutes? Tell us what you think about the Blue Book! We want to hear your input on our Brookline Bird Club Bulletins, mailed to members each [...]
BBC 7 Seas Whale Watch Trip Report
Brookline Bird Club’s 7 Seas Whale Watch Trip Report, 2024 Photo: Black Guillemot, Johnny Owens On a beautiful Saturday morning July 27, 46 club members and friends boarded the 7 Seas sailing vessel Privateer IV out [...]
BBC 2024 trips to Lake Umbagog, NH
Brookline Bird Club’s 2024 Trips to the Lake Umbagog, NH Region - In early June two groups of BBC members had the opportunity to explore the region near Lake Umbagog in northern New Hampshire. We [...]
Celebrating Black Birders Week!
Celebrate Black Birders Week Sunday May 26 - Saturday June 1, 2024 Black Birders Week is a week-long series of virtual and in-person events to promote equitable access to nature, to highlight Black nature enthusiasts, and to increase [...]
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Upcoming Field Trips
Crooked Pond RESCHEDULED to Sunday, April 6
Boxford - Crooked Pond 208 Middleton Road, Boxford, MA, United StatesThis trip has been rescheduled to Sunday, April 6.
Fruitlands Museum, Harvard
Harvard - Fruitlands Museum 102 Prospect Hill Rd., Harvard, MA, United StatesCo-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
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 [...]
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.
Crooked Pond (New Date)
Boxford - Crooked Pond 208 Middleton Road, Boxford, MA, United StatesJoin us for the traditional BBC early spring walk at Crooked Pond--Bald Hill Reservation, for Winter Wren, Brown Creeper, and early spring migrants like Louisiana Waterthrush.. The trail is generally flat, muddy, and possibly icy. Dress warmly; walking sticks helpful.