On a sunny Saturday morning, birders and nature enthusiasts of color gathered at Havenwoods State Forest, 6141 N. Hopkins St., for Milwaukee’s Black Birders Week community celebration.
The May 30 event was put on by the BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin, Zoological Society of Milwaukee and Havenwoods Neighborhood Partnership.
For attendee Linetta Alexander, the event was an opportunity to introduce her younger cousins to birding.
“It’s great because it’s needed,” Alexander said. “To be in an inclusive space where you could just be yourself among nature is ideal. I knew right away that it was going to be safe for them to be here.”
Milwaukee’s Black Birders Week community celebration was inspired by the national Black Birders Week movement, which began in 2020 following the racial profiling of birder Christian Cooper in New York’s Central Park and broader conversations about racism in outdoor spaces.
Founded in 2021, the BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin grew out of a desire to make birding and outdoor spaces more welcoming to Black, Indigenous and other people of color. The organization hosts bird walks and educational events across Wisconsin for birders of all experience levels.
Co-founder Dexter Patterson said the group’s work extends beyond just identifying birds.
“I tell people all the time, birding isn’t just about the birds,” Patterson said. “It is about people coming together, it is the questions, it is the little kids taking on leadership roles.”
Throughout the morning, participants explored trails during a guided bird walk, built bird feeders and visited activity stations designed for children and families.
The event took place at Havenwoods State Forest, a 237-acre urban forest and environmental education center on Milwaukee’s North Side.
Tim Scott, founder of Urban Nature Connection and a volunteer at the event, said he appreciates having natural spaces, such as Havenwoods, in the heart of Milwaukee’s Black community.
“We’re actually getting into birding. I thought birds were bad until I started learning about the benefits of birds, and that we can’t live without them,” Scott said. “Now, I want to know more. I want to see them, I want to hear them, I want to look at the different kinds of birds.”
Patterson said the organization’s long-term goal extends beyond birding.
“I hope that we can not only grow the birding community, but also normalize Black and Brown people outside,” Patterson said.
Ultimately, he said, he wants one distinction in particular to no longer be necessary.
“I would hope eventually that people see Black birders as just birders.”
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
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