This the Mindful Birding Network’s seasonal gathering online to highlight our collective work, explore Mindful Birding practices, learn about emerging research and science behind the practice, and connect with each other.

To receive the information to participate, please join the network by clicking the button below.

The network upholds an inclusive space and cultivates kindness and generosity where members can thrive. We celebrate people of all levels of interest, knowledge, abilities, and skill with regard to birds and Mindful Birding.

This program is sponsored by the Travis Audubon Society in Austin, Texas.

“Bird Diva” Bridget Butler believes that there’s a bit of bias in the birding world when it comes to females. In this presentation, she examines new scientific studies on female birds, shares stories of the “Mothers of Ornithology,” and reflects on current research about gender and birding.

Bridget Butler, aka The Bird Diva, has been working in conservation for more than 20 years throughout New England. Her “Slow Birding” work has been featured on a number of birding podcasts in the US and abroad. She serves on the Green Mountain Audubon Society Board and is a member of the Vermont Rare Bird Records Committee.

Note: This will be a Zoom (virtual) presentation. The link to join the meeting will be in our weekly e-newsletter starting in October. If you don’t receive our newsletter, sign up here.

This presentation is part of The Great Greensboro Bird Event co-hosted by the Greensboro Conservation Commission at the Highland Center for the Arts in Greensboro VT.

Bridget Butler, aka The Bird Diva, will share her path to creating Slow Birding, a mindful practice going beyond identification, that is focused on deep observation, connecting with the landscape, and connecting with self. In this presentation, he’ll share a variety of techniques that will help you look at birds, listen to them, and interpret their behavior, which will build your skills as a naturalist and provide you with a practice that will allow you to slow down and reconnect with the natural world. After the presentation, we'll head outside to practice some sit spot techniques to open our awareness to birds.

This is a Slow Birding Community (SBC) event that is open to members of the community. To learn more about becoming a member, visit the SBC webpage.

Join Bird Diva Bridget Butler for an introduction to Slow Birding through an online guided sit spot session every month. We’ll explore practices for expanding our awareness, using mindfulness, and deepening our connection with the bird wherever we may be. Participants should choose a spot outdoors or near a window; find a spot where you feel safe and comfortable to spend some quiet time with birds. You may want to have: a beverage, a field journal, something to write with, binoculars (although these are not required), a comfortable chair.

Each session will be 30-45 minutes in length, have fresh components in addition to a familiar opening exercise. This online experience is open to beginner and experienced birders alike. Birders with limited mobility will find that Slow Birding is a practice that focuses on nature connection without the need to travel or cover long distances. Closed captions will be provided.

This is a Slow Birding Community event that is open to members of the community. To learn more about becoming a member, visit the SBC webpage.

A weekly open chat online with your favorite morning beverage! Mine, obvious by the title will be coffee. What's on your mind? Ask me anything. Share a story that has been just waiting to be told. Bonus points if you come with a mug with a bird on it!

This is a Slow Birding Community event that is open to members of the community. To learn more about becoming a member, visit the SBC webpage.

A weekly open chat online with your favorite morning beverage! Mine, obvious by the title will be coffee. What's on your mind? Ask me anything. Share a story that has been just waiting to be told. Bonus points if you come with a mug with a bird on it!

The Bristol Trail Network/Bristol Recreation Club is sponsoring this outing with support from the Vermont Community Foundation SPARK grant.

Slow Birding is a mindful approach that connects you with birds, the land, and yourself. Bridget Butler will teach us how to get to know birds beyond simple identification. We will start by observing the birds present on the landscape that day and practice sharing our observations in a supportive group setting, ensuring that all participants, regardless of their birding experience, feel uplifted.

Next, we’ll engage in a sit-spot session with prompts provided by Bridget, including deep listening practices to enhance our connection with nature. We will conclude by coming together to share our observations, feelings, and wonderings as a group.

What to Bring:  

• Wear sturdy shoes suitable for the trail and dress appropriately for the weather. 

• Be prepared to sit in place for up to 30 minutes at a time, so layer up for comfort.

• Consider bringing a portable chair, journal, beverage or water, and binoculars.

• Bug spray may be useful.

• Bridget will have a few extra binoculars and portable chairs available for borrowing.

Registration:  

SPACE IS LIMITED. Please contact Porter Knight to register at knight@gmavt.net. When you register, you’ll receive directions to the site and parking information.

This event is hosted by the Jericho Town Library in Jericho, VT.

Slow Birding, a unique practice, fosters a profound understanding of birds beyond mere identification. It's a mindful approach that employs the sit-spot method of observation, grounding our experience in a specific location and fostering a connection with both ourselves and the avian world.

During the presentation, Bridget will delve into her Slow Birding practice, a transformative journey that can awaken your inherent birding skills and rekindle your bond with nature. Slow Birding is a versatile approach that benefits novices and seasoned birders equally. Beginners find it a gentle introduction to birding, while veterans appreciate the freedom from list-driven birding, allowing them to view birds with a fresh perspective. Moreover, slow birding is a practice that fosters nature connection, making it accessible to birders with limited mobility and eliminating the need for extensive travel or long distances.

You can also join Bridget for a short guided sit-spot session after her presentation to explore her Slow Birding practice. We’ll try some simple exercises for expanding our awareness, using mindfulness, and deepening our connection with birds wherever we may encounter them.

This outing is sponsored by the Town of Northfield with funding from the Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative (VOREC)

Slow Birding is a mindful approach that connects you with birds, the land, and yourself. Bridget Butler will teach us how to get to know birds beyond simple identification. We will start by observing the birds present on the landscape that day and practice sharing our observations in a supportive group setting, ensuring that all participants, regardless of their birding experience, feel uplifted.

Next, we’ll engage in a sit-spot session with prompts provided by Bridget, including deep listening practices to enhance our connection with nature. We will conclude by coming together to share our observations, feelings, and wonderings as a group.

What to Bring:  

• Wear sturdy shoes suitable for the trail and dress appropriately for the weather. 

• Be prepared to sit in place for up to 30 minutes at a time, so layer up for comfort.

• Consider bringing a portable chair, journal, beverage or water, and binoculars.

• Bug spray may be useful.

• Bridget will have a few extra binoculars and portable chairs available for borrowing.

Guide:  

Bridget Butler, known as the Bird Diva, is an expert in birding and conservation with over 20 years of experience. She combines her passion for birds with a dedication to educating and inspiring others. Bridget has collaborated with various organizations, providing expertise in bird conservation, environmental education, and outreach. She is also a skilled facilitator and consultant, helping communities and organizations develop bird-friendly practices and policies. Bridget's approach emphasizes fostering a deep connection with nature, promoting mindfulness, and encouraging environmental stewardship. Her work aims to cultivate an informed and engaged public that appreciates and protects bird populations and their habitats. Learn more about Bridget at www.birddiva.com.

Registration:  

This event is free, but you must pre-register by noon on July 19th. Space is limited to 15 people, so register early by calling the Brown Public Library at (802) 485-4621.

Parking Instructions:  

Green Mountain Family Practice Trailhead  

From the intersection of VT-12 and VT-64, follow VT-12 north for 1.7 miles. Take a slight right onto Crescent Ave, followed shortly by a right turn onto Paine Mountain Drive. Green Mountain Family Practice will be on the left. The trails begin behind the parking lot. Please park in designated Town Forest spaces only.  

Here is the map for the Paine Mountain Trail System: www.trailfinder.info/print/trails/trail/paine-mountain-trail-system 

This program is offered for free to the community because of the Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative (VOREC) grant Northfield received. 

This is a Slow Birding Community event that is open to members of the community. To learn more about becoming a member, visit the SBC webpage.

A weekly open chat online with your favorite morning beverage! Mine, obvious by the title will be coffee. What's on your mind? Ask me anything. Share a story that has been just waiting to be told. Bonus points if you come with a mug with a bird on it!

Join us for a trio of dynamic bird babes in conversation about "Birding to Change the World," a new memoir by Burlington author and educator Trish O'Kane. Trish will be joined by The Bird Diva, Bridget Butler, and Rebecca Waterman, Bear Pond's own resident bird nerd. Themes of social justice, environmentalism, and education will be discussed under the lens of birding and it's greater impact. Birders and non-birders alike are welcome! 

Trish O'Kane is a writer and a senior lecturer in environmental justice at the University of Vermont, where avians are her teaching assistants. A former human rights journalist in Central America and the Deep South, she has written for the New York Times, Time, and the San Francisco Chronicle. She lives in Burlington, Vermont, with her writer-husband, their dog, and three chickens.

Bridget Butler "The Bird Diva" has been a naturalist for more than 20 years, playing match maker for the wildscape & the wonderful people who call Vermont their home. She specializes in teaching Slow Birding a mindful birding approach that focuses on reimagining how we connect with birds.

Rebecca Waterman (she/her) moved to Vermont from Oregon in September of 2022. Rebecca has been birding for over 10 years and leading outings for over 7 of those. Her interest, sparked by a Ruby-crowned kinglet, quickly led to international birding, rarity chases, patch birding, and county listing. Rebecca is a Co-lead for the Feminist Bird Club of Northern Vermont. She absolutely loves spending time with birders of all backgrounds and experience levels, and believes birding is for everybody!

I’ll be speaking and co-leading an outing at the Kentucky Ornithological Society’s spring meeting at Mammoth Cave National Park.

The KOS 2024 spring meeting will be held at Mammoth Cave National Park.

• Dates: April 26-28, 2024

• Location: Mammoth Cave National Park

• Address: 27 Entrance Road, Mammoth Cave, KY 42259

• Phone: 844-760-2283

• KOS Reservations Code: KOS24

We have 10 historic cottages (1 queen bed) and 20 rooms (2 queen beds) at Sunset Terrace, for a total of 30 rooms. Rates for the cottages are approximately $93/night before tax and the Sunset Terrace rooms are approximately $136/night.

Registration: $10.00 ($3.00 for Students)

Schedule of Events: (All times are Central Daylight Time):

Friday, April 26

• 1:00 p.m. Field Trips - Departing from front of the Park Lodge

  • Nancy Braun & Donna Stricklin – Echo River Springs Trail

  • David Bailey & Asher Higgins – Dennison Ferry Day Use area/Flint Ridge Rd

• 6:00 p.m. Meeting Registration (Rotunda Meeting Room)

• 7:00 p.m. Evening Meeting (Rotunda Meeting Room)

  • Jeremy Teague & Donna Stricklin – Welcome & Introduction

  • Steve Kistler – Bird Quiz

  • Kimi Birrer – former Kingsolver scholarship recipient

  • Brice Leech – Mammoth Cave Park ecology and the MAPS banding program

  • Saturday field trip details will be announced at the conclusion of the meeting

Saturday, April 27

• 8:00 a.m. Field Trips - Departing from front of the Park Lodge

  • Jeremy Teague & Bridget Butler – Echo River Springs Trail

  • Steve & Janet Kistler – Diamond Caverns area

  • Ronan O'Carra & Asher Higgins – Joppa Ridge Rd/Turnhole Bend

  • David Bailey – McElroy Transient Lake (Warren County)

  • Kyle Bixler & Michael Patton – Visitors Center/Heritage Trail to Sunset Point

• 1:00 p.m. Field Trips - Departing from front of the Park Lodge

  • Steve & Janet Kistler - Wildflower Walk

  • Kevin Burt – TBD, maybe Echo River Springs or Diamond Caverns

  • Asher Higgins – Bike Trail

• 6:30 p.m. Meeting Registration (Rotunda Meeting Room)

• 7:00 p.m. Evening Meeting (Park Lodge)

  • Jeremy Teague – Welcome & Field Trip Bird Tally

  • Keynote Speaker Bridget Butler – "Slow Birding"

  • Sunday field trip details will be announced at the conclusion of the meeting

Sunday, April 28

• 8:00 a.m. Field Trips - Departure area will be announced at conclusion of Saturday meeting

  • Jeff Sole & Steve Kistler – Jeff's farm in Hart County

  • TBD - Possibly McElroy Lake

  • TBD - Possibly Echo River Springs Trail

Keynote Speaker Bridget Butler

Bridget Butler, aka The Bird Diva, will share her path to creating Slow Birding, a mindful practice focused on deep observation beyond identification, connecting with the landscape, and connecting with self. Her practice came together over many years of feeling that traditional list-driven, even conservation-driven, birding was unfulfilling and did not reflect the way she was birding on her own. Now Bridget facilitates online courses and workshops that celebrate finding joy and awe in whatever bird is present, creating a more inclusive opportunity for anyone to see themselves as a birder.

Bridget has been working in conservation and environmental education for more than 25 years throughout New England. Through her business Bird Diva Consulting, she delivers presentations, leads bird outings, and brings her signature program Slow Birding to a broader audience. Bridget has worked for the Audubon Society in Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts and helped create Audubon Vermont's Forest Bird Initiative. Bridget has been a guest on a number of podcasts talking about Slow Birding, including the American Birding Podcast, Talkin' Birds with Ray Brown, and the South African podcast This Birding Life. Currently, she serves on the Green Mountain Audubon Society Board and is a member of the Vermont Rare Bird Records Committee. She feels it's important that the birding community continues to strive to diversify what it means to be a birder and that this variety of perspectives will bring a richer set of strategies to bird conservation. Bridget lives in St. Albans with her husband and three kids.

This is a Slow Birding Community event that is open to members of the community. To learn more about becoming a member, visit the SBC webpage.

A weekly open chat online with your favorite morning beverage! Mine, obvious by the title will be coffee. What's on your mind? Ask me anything. Share a story that has been just waiting to be told. Bonus points if you come with a mug with a bird on it!

This is a seasonal gathering of the Mindful Birding Network. I hope you’ll join us!

Join our Virtual Gathering!

This is our seasonal gathering online to highlight our collective work, explore Mindful Birding practices, learn about emerging research and science behind the practice, and connect with each other.

If you’ve already joined the network, you’ll receive reminder and a link to the session through email. Haven’t joined yet? Tap here to join the network and get on our mailing list!

The network upholds an inclusive space and cultivates kindness and generosity where members can thrive. We celebrate people of all levels of interest, knowledge, abilities, and skill with regard to birds and Mindful Birding.

This is a Slow Birding Community event that is open to members of the community. To learn more about becoming a member, visit the SBC webpage.

A weekly open chat online with your favorite morning beverage! Mine, obvious by the title will be coffee. What's on your mind? Ask me anything. Share a story that has been just waiting to be told. Bonus points if you come with a mug with a bird on it!

This is a Slow Birding Community event that is open to members of the community. To learn more about becoming a member, visit the SBC webpage.

A weekly open chat online with your favorite morning beverage! Mine, obvious by the title will be coffee. What's on your mind? Ask me anything. Share a story that has been just waiting to be told. Bonus points if you come with a mug with a bird on it!

This is a Slow Birding Community (SBC) event that is open to members of the community. To learn more about becoming a member, visit the SBC webpage.

Join Bird Diva Bridget Butler for an introduction to Slow Birding through an online guided sit spot session every month. We’ll explore practices for expanding our awareness, using mindfulness, and deepening our connection with the bird wherever we may be. Participants should choose a spot outdoors or near a window; find a spot where you feel safe and comfortable to spend some quiet time with birds. You may want to have: a beverage, a field journal, something to write with, binoculars (although these are not required), a comfortable chair.

Each session will be 30-45 minutes in length, have fresh components in addition to a familiar opening exercise. This online experience is open to beginner and experienced birders alike. Birders with limited mobility will find that Slow Birding is a practice that focuses on nature connection without the need to travel or cover long distances. Closed captions will be provided.

This online presentation is sponsored by Menunkatuck Audubon Society in Guilford, Connecticut.

Think of this presentation as the her-story of birding.

Join Bird Diva Bridget Butler as she shares the lost legacy of women in ornithology and the celebration of noticing female birds. Let’s face it: there’s a bit of bias in the birding world when it comes to females. Bridget breaks down this bias by looking at current research on gender and birding, retelling the stories of the Mothers of Ornithology, and making the connection to the current science on female birds. You'll be surprised by what has been forgotten and how we can change the narrative moving forward to better support both the birding community and conservation!

Register to get Zoom link.

This is a Slow Birding Community event that is open to members of the community. To learn more about becoming a member, visit the SBC webpage.

A weekly open chat online with your favorite morning beverage! Mine, obvious by the title will be coffee. What's on your mind? Ask me anything. Share a story that has been just waiting to be told. Bonus points if you come with a mug with a bird on it!

This is a Slow Birding Community event that is open to members of the community. To learn more about becoming a member, visit the SBC webpage.

A weekly open chat online with your favorite morning beverage! Mine, obvious by the title will be coffee. What's on your mind? Ask me anything. Share a story that has been just waiting to be told. Bonus points if you come with a mug with a bird on it!

This is a Slow Birding Community event that is open to members of the community. To learn more about becoming a member, visit the SBC webpage.

A weekly open chat online with your favorite morning beverage! Mine, obvious by the title will be coffee. What's on your mind? Ask me anything. Share a story that has been just waiting to be told. Bonus points if you come with a mug with a bird on it!

This presentation is hosted by UVM’s Osher Lifelong Learning Program (OLLI)

In this online program, open your senses to an immersive experience exploring how birds lend their voices to our local soundscapes. Fine-tune your ability to listen to each layer, paying attention to the relationships between sounds. Bird Diva Bridget Butler will guide you through a variety of soundscapes that birds inhabit, adding a whole new layer to the way we listen to the natural world.

This is a Slow Birding Community event that is open to members of the community. To learn more about becoming a member, visit the SBC webpage.

A weekly open chat online with your favorite morning beverage! Mine, obvious by the title will be coffee. What's on your mind? Ask me anything. Share a story that has been just waiting to be told. Bonus points if you come with a mug with a bird on it!

This is a Slow Birding Community (SBC) event that is open to members of the community. To learn more about becoming a member, visit the SBC webpage.

Join Bird Diva Bridget Butler for an introduction to Slow Birding through an online guided sit spot session every month. We’ll explore practices for expanding our awareness, using mindfulness, and deepening our connection with the bird wherever we may be. Participants should choose a spot outdoors or near a window; find a spot where you feel safe and comfortable to spend some quiet time with birds. You may want to have: a beverage, a field journal, something to write with, binoculars (although these are not required), a comfortable chair.

Each session will be 30-45 minutes in length, have fresh components in addition to a familiar opening exercise. This online experience is open to beginner and experienced birders alike. Birders with limited mobility will find that Slow Birding is a practice that focuses on nature connection without the need to travel or cover long distances. Closed captions will be provided.

This online 5-week course will guide you in developing an alternative approach to birding; a practice that will allow you to enhance your birding skills by birding in place. Bird Diva, Bridget Butler, will facilitate a series of weekly sessions through customized email provocations (4), a private online Slow Birding Community membership for 2 months, and live online discussions (5). During this workshop, you’ll learn how to start a Sit Spot practice, enhance your observation skills, and deepen your connection to the birds right outside your door. Runs for four weeks starting March 5th and ending April 2nd. Dates for discussions are Tuesdays, March 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th, and April 2nd at 6:30 pm EST.

Sliding scale: $125/$150/$175