Spring migration, when birds that have spent their winter in Central and South America come winging back to North America, is in full swing.
And it’s also the season when Black birders gather and celebrate the natural world and invite others to enjoy the community of people who share their interest.
Octaivia Nettles, who holds the title of Ministry of Birding with the DC Bird Alliance, wasn’t always a bird enthusiast.
Originally from the Midwest, Nettles said she moved to Texas, then to the D.C. region, and that’s where she noticed something.
“The regional differences between birds really piqued my interest. I like to say that around 2023 is when I started taking birding seriously,” she told WTOP.
One thing she noticed is that while mockingbirds in Texas and mockingbirds in D.C. might look alike, they sounded different.
“Our mockingbird may be mocking a blue jay or a hawk in Texas, and that will sound completely different than the mockingbird that is mimicking the same species over in the Midwest, in the South, or on the East Coast, ” she said.
It turns out birds, Nettles said, do have regional accents.
As she settled into the D.C. region, Nettles looked around and found the DC Bird Alliance.
“I met the people in that organization that were like-minded, and it’s just been wonderful since then,” she said.
Stereotypes about birding — that birders are white and middle or upper class — remain, Nettles said.
“There are barriers to entry into a lot of these green spaces, circling back to what happened with Christian Cooper in New York,” she said, referring to Cooper, a birder and now the host of National Geographic’s “Extraordinary Birder.”
In 2020, Cooper, who was in Central Park birding, asked a woman, Amy Cooper (no relation) to leash her dog. When she refused, he videotaped her and she called police claiming that Cooper had threatened her and her dog. The woman was white. Cooper is Black.
That incident, Nettles said, created a push to open outdoor spaces to everyone, especially those who felt unwelcome because they didn’t fit the image of what many people imagine a birder should look like.
“I think that it has definitely been an intentional push on our end to make sure that people who are younger, people who are of color, people who are on the spectrum, people who need access to these spaces,” have that access, Nettles said, and feel comfortable and welcome in outdoor spaces.
One thing about the practice of noticing birds around you, Nettles said, is that once you start, “you cannot unbird yourself.”
It’s a habit that sticks — in a good way
Nettles said she likes to pay attention to the birds that are sometimes dismissed by birdwatchers that are fixated on finding the flashier or rarer species.
Instead, she focuses on the birds that many overlook as boring or just too common to count.
“There is no such thing as just a ‘A, B, C or D bird,’ because they are all very much contributing to our environment,” she said.
Her personal favorite is the American grackle.
Nettles said what makes birding so appealing is that it gets people outside; whether they know it or not, they often find themselves benefiting from that restorative experience.
“I had my birding app, where it kind of takes in all of the bird sounds, and I had at least 10 species within 10 minutes. You really just never know what’s there until you take a second to sit back, look, and just appreciate that we’re all sharing this space. We’re all sharing these green spaces and the urban spaces together,” she said.
She said the love for the hobby is very simple — “It’s just cool.”
“It’s really cool to get to know your environment. It’s cool to know who your neighbors are,” she added.
During Black Birders Week, there are a wide range of activities for beginner and experienced birders alike. Some are limited, and booked up, others have flexible capacities, and Nettles said new activities are added throughout the year across the D.C. region.
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