Good morning and Happy Friday, everyone!

I’d like to share a fundraising campaign with you all, which started today and runs through next Monday (the 20th).

We’ve often talked about fundraisers here, usually in the form of compilation albums. Like this one that specifically benefited birds, several (here, here, and here) intended to support people of Palestine, and even this one that sounded bird-related but was also for Palestinian people. And I fully encourage you to check out all of those if you haven’t already.

But today I’ve got one that’s a bit different: supporting Palestine AND bird-related, but surprisingly NOT music-related.

Birdathon for Birders of Palestine

presented by Feminist Bird Club

From Birders of Palestine “About Us” page:

Every spring and autumn, millions of birds fly over Palestine, an important stopover for hundreds of migratory species traveling between their wintering grounds in Africa and their breeding sites in Europe and Asia. The region is one of the world’s busiest flyways.

The birds soar over Palestinians living in “the world’s largest open-air prison” in Gaza – besieged for decades and now subjected to genocide – and over Palestinians living under occupation, apartheid and ethnic cleansing between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. But Israel’s increasingly brutal system of oppression hasn’t stopped Palestinians from raising their heads high to admire the birds filling the sky.

In Gaza, birders Lara and Mandy Sirdah have continued to watch and photograph birds, even during the genocide. Forced to leave their homes in northern Gaza in November 2023 after Israeli expulsion orders, the twin sisters have continued publishing photos of the birds they found in displacement.

Birders of Palestine is an independent project fundraising to support Palestinian birdwatchers. Anyone who donates will receive prints or postcards of photos taken by Palestinian birders. Your support will help birders and their families as they try to survive genocide and ethnic cleansing, and encourage their love for birding.

• “How Trapped Palestinians Fell in Love with Bird-Watching” (via International Women’s Media Foundation)
• “‘Sometimes I Wonder if I’ll Come Back’: Palestinian Birdwatchers Defy Danger to Scan the Skies” (via The Guardian)

From Valley of Steel:

I’m birding for a better world! Can you cheer me on?

I’m excited to be a part of Feminist Bird Club‘s Birdathon for Birders of Palestine! Our birding community is coming together to celebrate the inclusive nature of bird joy while fundraising for Birders of Palestine, an independent project fundraising to support Palestinian birdwatchers.

Please help me reach my goal by leaving a flat donation or making a pledge to support my birding efforts! Your support will help provide critical funds to birders and their families as they try to survive genocide and ethnic cleansing, and encourage their love for birding.

You can also support the Palestinian birders and their families directly by purchasing a print on the Birders of Palestine website. Submit your receipt here and note that your purchase is to support my fundraising campaign!

Thank you for considering and stay tuned for my birding updates! 🐦

 

To donate to Birders of Palestine through my Birdathon participant page (here), you may choose a flat amount OR you can pledge an amount per bird species I see and/or hear over the duration of the campaign (Friday the 17th through Monday the 20th). Either way, thank you very much for your support!

I’ve set a goal of 50 different bird species over the duration of the campaign — somewhat ambitious, but possible, given that we’ve still got several straggling migrants making their way through southwestern Pennsylvania. For context, I’ve identified 66 species throughout the first half of October.

Thanks!!