Philly is a ‘prime location for bird watching,’ and this event will teach you how to do it

Large raptors like bald eagles to the tiny tufted titmouse can be spotted in the city. Cardinals, mourning doves, and goldfinches all call Philly home.

Ever thought of getting into birding, but don’t have a clue where, how or when to begin? Don’t know an American redstart from a Common yellowthroat?

Audubon Mid-Atlantic’s second annual Philly Birding Weekend that runs Oct. 13-15 with 15 tours within the city might be a good way to learn.

The event serves as a fundraiser for Audubon’s free educational programming at the Discovery Center in East Fairmount Park. It draws seasoned birders and offers an opportunity for new birders to learn.

Tours take place at Laurel Hill Cemetery, Belmont Plateau, FDR Park and other locations such as the Navy Yard, a new spot this year. Other tour locations include East Fairmount Park, Woodlands Cemetery, Center City, Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, Houston Meadow, Strawberry Mansion, Pennypack on the Delaware, and Morris Arboretum.

Suzanne Biemiller, executive director of Audubon Mid-Atlantic, which hosts the event, said 93 bird species were identified during the inaugural birding weekend of nine tours in 2022.

The 2022 event “really exceeded our expectations” Biemiller said, noting that the majority of tours sold out. “It was especially gratifying for our mission as an organization that many of the people who came to the tours were first time birders. Some didn’t have binoculars with them. But they said, ‘I want to try this and see what’s in my backyard.’”

The event also drew people who live outside the city.

As a result of the success, six new tours were added for 2023. Audubon Mid-Atlantic is also hosting a photography contest over the weekend, and a “Tally Rally” at the Discovery Center to celebrate with food and local craft beer.

The event has drawn enough attention that this year’s tour of the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge is already sold out. Tickets for tours range from $30 to $45 depending on whether a location requires an entrance fee or equipment is needed, such as with a paddle tour at the Discover Center.

Audubon officials encourage participants to register early online. Participants can sign up to borrow binoculars during registration.

Biemiller said the events were all kept within Philadelphia’s borders to show people how many bird species call the city home or migrate through — and to keep tours contained geographically.

“We’re still in out infancy with this,” Biemiller said. “We didn’t want to get logistically spread too thin.”

She calls Philadelphia “a prime location for bird watching.”

“We welcome all to attend,” Biemiller said, “especially those who may never have been birding before.”

Jim Rapp, who lives in Maryland and co-led some of last year’s tours, said Philly Birding Weekend sold 162 tickets in 2022 to 125 people, some of whom took several tours. Sales so far are matching that pace, if not exceeding it. He said tours usually last about 2 1/2 hours.

He co-led a tour last year at Woodland Cemetery and called it “brilliant.”

Overall, participants saw plenty of songbirds and raptors in heavily wooded sites, Rapp said.

“I’m excited this year that we added a couple of trips, for instance, at Pennypack on the Delaware so we’ll actually be out on the waterfront with more opportunity for water birds. I’m anticipating a bigger species list this year.”

Last year, the group spotted great blue herons, great egrets, mallards, and other species.

Rapp noted a tour of Center City bird collision monitoring will be led by Keith Russell, a program manager at Audubon Mid-Atlantic, and starts 5:30 a.m. Bird collisions have made news in the past, especially one on Oct. 2, 2020, that left an estimated 1,500 birds killed after colliding with skyscrapers and other buildings in a small section of Center City.

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The mass kill gave rise to a new organization, Bird Safe Philly, and a voluntary program for building owners to turn off, or turn down, lights at night so as to limit the attraction to birds.