Our return to in-person Pride Hikes happened on the same day as Birdathon this year. I welcomed the shift from zoom-based Pride Hikes Online to reconnecting in person. We gathered just beyond Shelburne Farm’s Welcome Center in a masked and socially distanced circle, navigating together how to create safety and inclusion early on in the post-Covid vaccine world. This was both Anne from the Pride Center and my first time leading a public program just as the mask mandate was being lifted. I felt a bit rusty and off-kilter in front of the group as different emotions swirled around – joy, unease, excitement, social anxiety, gratitude, relief, fear. No wonder I stumbled over my words as my glasses fogged up from my mask. Thankfully, one of our Pride Hikes regulars spoke up and recognized that people’s comfort levels with masks could change, even over the course of an event. She suggested that we make it easy and acceptable for anyone to request a bit of social distance or pulling up masks during the program. I’m not surprised to have found fluency and guidance about creating safety and inclusion from the group. Radical inclusion defines the Queer community and is at the heart of how the Pride Center and Outright Vermont move through the world. Our Pride Hike partnership is just one of many Let’s Go Birding Together outings throughout the Audubon network that seek to create more safe and inclusive spaces in the birding world.  

Birding usually takes a back seat to conversations, which are often about more complicated topics than you’d expect during a typical birding adventure. There’s an intimacy and trust that happens on the trails with this group, an almost magical bubble of understanding. I’ll point out a passing Bald Eagle or stop myself mid-sentence to enjoy the song of a Veery, but I don’t put myself out there as a Birding Expert. I’m more interested in hearing other peoples’ birding stories and pondering their bird questions together. I kept an eBird list to tally our species for Birdathon, but casually. 

There were many new faces and a few new Vermonters at our gathering, looking for a connection to the Queer community in the outdoors. It was a hot day, we took a slow pace, and enjoyed the stunning views at Shelburne Farms. We admired the Osprey nest and spotted a couple of nestlings on the platform near the parking lot. Birdsongs popped up into our conversations: the bubbling of the Bobolink, the chatter of a Chipping Sparrow, the insistent crescendo of the Ovenbird. At the Farm Barn we stopped for treats at O Bread Bakery and the conversation turned to talk of sourdough starters and gluten-free bakeries. Overhead the Barn Swallows, Rock Pigeons, European Starlings, and House Sparrows made themselves at home in the nooks and eaves of barn. We made our way to the top of the hill behind the barn to get a view of the Green Mountains, taking a long rest to chat – no rush, no agenda.  

We wrapped up back at the Welcome Center, tallying 15 bird species and covering 1.6 miles. We made plans for a dog-friendly location for our June Pride Hike, just down the road at Shelburne Bay Park (Sunday, June 20 from 1-3 pm). Click here for more information and to learn how to join us. All ages, allies, and families are welcome! 

If you would like to make a donation to our Birdathon to support Pride Hikes, as well as our conservation, policy and education work at Audubon Vermont it’s not too late! Click here to make your donation.  

To learn more about Pride Hikes in Vermont, read Annie Cebulski’s article online: click here. 

To learn more about why creating safe spaces in the outdoors for the LGBTQIA++ community is an important part of Audubon’s mission: click here.   

Pride Hike Birdathon Birdlist
Saturday, May 22, 2021
Shelburne Farms, Shelburne, Vermont

4 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)

5 Ring-billed Gull

7 Turkey Vulture

1 Osprey

2 American Crow

5 Barn Swallow

6 European Starling

2 American Robin

7 House Sparrow

1 American Goldfinch

1 Chipping Sparrow

1 Song Sparrow

5 Bobolink

1 Red-winged Blackbird

2 Ovenbird