October 26 | 10am-1pm
People of all abilities and ages are invited to celebrate Birdability Week with a fun-filled morning of birding activities! Discover the diverse bird species that call Montgomery Parks home and learn about the services provided to make your birding experiences accessible. Activities and resources provided by Montgomery Parks Program Access, Locust Grove Nature Center, Meadowside Nature Center, Readability, Nature Forward, DC Bird Alliance, Montgomery Bird Club, and Feminist Bird Club! This event is rain or shine.
Ongoing activities include:
- Bird Artifacts – Use your senses to learn about bird specimens like eggs and nests!
- Crafts – Use natural pigments to paint a birdfeeder to add to a backyard bird playground!
- eBird and Merlin – Learn how to use these birding apps to log your findings and identify feathery friends!
- Guided Bird ‘Wander”- Join a group of birding enthusiasts on the trail to spot the many species at the park!
- Sensory Nest – An indoor space to rest and recharge, including calming activities and resources like puzzles, coloring, and fidgets!
Scheduled activities include:
- Flat Birding at 10:15am, 11:15am, and 12:15pm – Learn how to manipulate birding tools and to identify birds with pictures that don’t fly away!
- Nature Journaling at 10am, 11am, 12pm – Use creative prompts to connect with the beauty of birds and their habitat!
- Sensory Storytime at 10:30am, 11am, 11:45am, 12:30pm – Join Readability for a series of stories that engage your eyes, hands, nose, and ears!
On Site Accessibility:
- Sensory Nest – An indoor space to rest and recharge, including calming activities and resources like puzzles, coloring, and fidgets!
- Park Activity Building – Covered and paved wrap around patio with ADA accessible restrooms. Toilets are indoors, flushable, and have motion censored hand dryers.
- Adaptive Equipment – Binocular neck straps, harnesses, tripods, and mounting adjustments.
- EnChroma sunglasses – These sunglasses help individuals with color blindness see the vibrant colors of outdoors.
- Extra seating around the patio – Craft areas, Sit and Bird, and Readability have dedicated seating. There are picnic tables around the park as well. Seating may not have back support.
Parking:
- If you have limited mobility or use an assistive mobility device ADA accessible parking is available inside the park.
- If you are able to walk a short pedestrian path for ~3 minutes, there is plenty of street parking along Claridge Road.
- Additional parking is also available at Highland Elementary School located at 31 Medway Street. This walk is ~8 minutes.
- An ADA wheelchair accessible shuttle cart will be available to assist participants from the corner of Medway and Claridge to the event area.
- No parking is permitted along the pedestrian path.
Walking:
- Broadview Trail – Enter from Highland Elementary School. Trail head located along Medway Street on the left side of the school building. About an 8-minute walk. This is a natural surface trail with hills and roots. Not ADA accessible.
- Pumphrey Trail – Enter the park from the cross streets King Treet Street and Broadview Rd. About a 3-minute walk. This is a natural surface trail. Not ADA accessible.
- Claridge Road – Main entrance to the park. Follow the pedestrian walkway to the main event area, about a 3-minute walk.
Montgomery Parks, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, encourages and supports the participation of individuals with disabilities. Please contact 301-495-2581 (Voice) , MD Relay 7-1-1 or 800-552-7724 or ProgramAccess@MontgomeryParks.org to request a disability modification or complete our Modification Intake Form (accessible pdf)
To learn more about Birdability Week throughout the nation visit Birdability.org
For programs throughout Birdability Week in Montgomery Parks, please visit Birdability Week 2025 – Montgomery Parks
