(by Anita Fernandez)
If you are a birder, you know that there is community to be found in the activity and the connection to nature. But do you really know the community that exists through our shared economic and cultural history in New Hampshire? Don’t miss out on the opportunity for some urban birding in Portsmouth, as NH Audubon joins the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire through city streets, backyard gardens, and waterfront parks in search of both a connection to our community’s history and a chance to connect with the natural world.
Black Birders Week (founded by the group Black AF in STEM) 2025 will be held this year from May 25 to May 31, and this year’s theme is Grounded in Community. NH Audubon’s outing will take place on Saturday May 31 at 9am over mostly easy terrain, including pavement, mown grass, and asphalt. Co-led by BHTNH’s Nur Shoop and NH Audubon’s President Doug Bechtel, we will stroll through the gardens at the Governor John Langdon House, where we may see sparrows, finches, corvids, blackbirds and more. The group will move towards the water, finding catbirds and cliff swallows along streets, and gulls and terns over the water. Along the way we will stop at multiple points to discuss important historically significant locations such as the African Burying Ground on Chestnut Street, which has now been marked as the place of honor it deserves. Please visit here to register and secure your spot; this is a limited capacity event and one not to miss to experience our full communal history. All proceeds will support the Black Heritage Trail of NH’s work.