Welcome!
The Bruin Audubon Society & Birding Club is the official Audubon student chapter at UCLA. We host weekly campus bird walks, field trips to birding hotspots near and far, and informational events and workshops for the UCLA community. We develop and implement conservation projects that restore habitat for birds on campus. Our mission is to support birds and promote interest in birding at UCLA.
Membership is free to all members of the UCLA community, including students, postdocs, staff, and faculty. We encourage people of all birding experience levels to join.
Our blog is live!
Board member Graham Montgomery has contributed the first post to BASBC's birding blog. You can read his exposé on the festive mistletoebird right here! Visit again later for more posts on birds in the news, helpful resources, and fun facts about birds from all over the world and right here at home in Los Angeles.
Standing Up To Racism
As an organization of birdwatchers and bird lovers, the Bruin Audubon Society and Birding Club deeply believes in the power of birds for bringing people together as a community, for stimulating conversations, and for cherishing diversity. We believe that engaging with the outdoors and birdwatching should be safe and accessible to all, and that much work needs to be done to achieve this.
As an Audubon student chapter, we stand with this statement from the National Audubon Society: “Black Americans often face terrible daily dangers in outdoor spaces, where they are subjected to unwarranted suspicion, confrontation, and violence. The outdoors – and the joy of birds – should be safe and welcoming for all people. That’s the reality Audubon and our partners are working hard to achieve. We unequivocally condemn racist sentiments, behavior, and systems that undermine the humanity, rights, and freedom of Black people. We are grateful Christian Cooper is safe. He takes great delight in sharing New York City’s birds with others and serves as a board member of the New York City Audubon Society, where he promotes conservation of New York City’s outdoor spaces and inclusion of all people.”
[Click to read more]
We also emphasize this message from the National Wildlife Federation: "None of our work in support of people and wildlife will matter if everyone cannot safely go outdoors, none of our work to restore our public lands will matter if everyone cannot safely make it to the trailhead, and none of our work to secure cleaner air and water matters when Black men and women are dying in the streets.”
The BASBC condemns all forms of racism, and we are deeply saddened and outraged by the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless other Black Americans targeted by senseless acts of racism. We stand in solidarity with the protests against the systemic racism and police brutality that has long plagued this country. We are grateful for the work of countless community leaders speaking out against the violence and injustice against Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and other people of color, and who call for much needed change.
We are also committed to taking an active role in addressing the issues of diversity in and access to birding and the outdoors, as well as in dismantling the racist structures that permeate our society and institution. We plan to do this by:
Cultivating a culture of inclusion and awareness in our organization
Speaking out against acts of discrimination and violence within and outside of our organization
Recognizing and highlighting the contributions of Black scientists, birders, and conservationists to the birding community and wildlife ecology
Reaching out to the Afrikan Student Union and other UCLA student organizations to co-host events that encourage and celebrate BIPOC members in the birding community
Organizing events during Latino Conservation Week to support local conservation efforts and provide fun and safe opportunities for Latinx families to access the outdoors, in collaboration with local Latinx community leaders
Supporting calls to demilitarize UCPD and for the University of California to cut ties with police departments
We welcome you to participate in these activities and encourage you to reach out if you have any ideas for how the Bruin Audubon Society and Birding Club can build constructive conversations and make the joys of birding available to people of all backgrounds. You are a valued member of our community united to enjoy nature and camaraderie, and we are committed to listening.
Stay Up To Date
Find us on social media, or join our mailing list.
Instagram | Facebook | Mailing List
Birding From Your Nest
Keep birding from home! Visit the Yard Bird Challenge page to add your safer-at-home sightings Bruin Audubon's community checklist.
Sign-up Forms
Find out more about our field trips.
We lead field trips to birding hotspots across Southern California, from nearby city parks to overnight camping trips in the wilderness.
We lead short campus bird walks every week. No sign-up is required and binoculars are provided.
Thank you to our partners!
Through partnerships with California Audubon and The Green Initiative Fund at UCLA, Bruin Audubon Society and Birding Club is able to provide robust programming at no cost to its members.
Want to support Bruin Audubon? Get in touch with us at bruinaudubonsociety@gmail.com or consider donating today.
