May – Portland Audubon

We all know how lucky we are to live in a state that offers some of the most exciting birding in the country. In one day you could observe nesting seabirds on our coastline, trek through our old growth forests in search of Northern Spotted Owls, traverse the Cascades for Canada Jays, and finish up watching Golden Eagles in the high desert. Or just sit near your feeder and watch as the hummingbirds, warblers, and woodpeckers come straight to you.

But a bird-friendly landscape doesn’t just magically happen. We’re also thankful to live in a place where people have fought to protect the places we now cherish. Portland Audubon, an organization we have long supported here at the Backyard Bird Shop, exemplifies this modern legacy.

Since 1902 Portland Audubon has worked across the Oregon landscape to protect imperiled species and critical bird habitat, create more equitable access to nature for all people, and provide educational opportunities so youth and adults can form lasting connections to the natural world. Here in Portland they also operate the Wildlife Care Center, the largest and busiest wildlife rehabilitation facility in the region.

So many of the places we love are protected because a scrappy group of bird lovers joined forces more than a hundred years ago to take action. In their first years, they helped to establish Malheur, Klamath, and Three Arch Rocks National Wildlife Refuges, some of the most important bird habitats in the state. And since then, they’ve only picked up speed, helping to create Oregon’s first five marine reserves, fighting for our old growth forests, building bird-friendly policies into the DNA of our city, and working to create a climate resilient landscape.

There are so many different ways to get involved to help them in this work. We wanted to list some opportunities here for you since we know our community is also a scrappy group of bird lovers who want to see Oregon’s wild places thrive for future generations.

Get Involved

• Sign up for their email list for monthly emails
• Sign up for a class or field trip led by expert naturalists
• Become a volunteer
• Become a community scientist
• Sign up to be a Portland Audubon activist
• Send your child to camp
• Join the Backyard Habitat Certification Program, done in partnership with Columbia Land Trust
• Learn how you can reduce wildlife hazards
• Join their flock of more than 16,000 members
• Visit their Wildlife Sanctuary in NW Portland
• Make a donation to support their work

We are matching your donations to Portland Audubon for the month of May

*up to $2,000