Join BirdNote tomorrow, November 30th!
Illustrator David Sibley and actor H. Jon Benjamin will face off in the bird illustration battle of the century during BirdNote's Year-end Celebration and Auction!
On Thursday, October 24 at 12pm PT/3pm ET, BirdNote and Birdability hosted a special virtual event as part of Birdability Week, celebrating how birdsong and birding by ear make birding more accessible for everyone — especially birders who are blind and birders with vision impairments.
This event highlighted the powerful stories of blind birders in the birding community, showcasing how birdsong helps people connect with nature and the birds around them. Hear from Juan Pablo Culasso, a blind birder and expert sound recordist from Colombia, Donna Posont, head of an innovative program at the University of Michigan-Dearborn that helps blind people of all ages learn about birding and explore nature, along with 17-year- old blind birder Emily Groves, who shared her birding journey.
The event also offered practical tips, tools, and a mini workshop designed to help you become a better birder by ear. Discover techniques to make identifying birdsong easier, enhance your birding experience, and deepen your connection with the avian world through the beauty of sound and birdsong.
About our Panelists:
Juan Pablo Culasso is a nature recordist, sound designer, and accessiblity consultant based in Colombia. He has been recording nature sounds for over 20 years, and has participated in numerous projects supported by WWF, USAID, Awasi Foundation, Guyra Paraguay, among others, including as a Nature Sound Recordist and Accessibility and Inclusion Consultant.
Culasso has worked as a nature sound recordist in recording, editing and mastering the sound heritage of different ecosystems and nature reserves for biodiversity conservation and environmental education projects, and is passionate about birds and the conservation of sound heritage.
Donna Posont conducts an innovative program at the Environmental Interpretive Center at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, Birding by Ear and Beyond, which helps blind people of all ages learn about birding and explore nature.
Emily Groves started learning bird sounds when she was 10, but had always been interested in them. She has been blind since birth and started birding when she lived in Iowa, with lots of eastern birds, and some of her top birds include Sandhill Cranes, Chestnut-breasted Wrens and the Sumatran Shortwing. She was recently a participant in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Young Birders program, a four-day immersive learning experience for high school students with a passion for birds and an interest in bird-related careers, where she quickly picked up the sounds of new-to-her species.
About our Moderator:
Ariana Remmel is a chemist turned journalist who is passionate about exploring the world through the lens of science and discovery. When they aren’t digging into the latest research on molecules and microbes, Ariana is outside looking for lifer birds near their home in Little Rock, Arkansas. Ariana loves telling stories that help people make sense of the world and feel inspired by the wonders of nature.