This May we’ve flossed our thoughts with waterfowl. Counted birds instead of sheep. Watched owls eat. Searched for baby hummingbirds. Traded stress for starlings. And maybe even gotten slightly off our s*** for a bit. As Mental Health Awareness Month winds down, here’s your gentle nudge to keep birding in your back pocket, not just for checklists, but for calm. For clarity. For a goofy moment with a grosbeak that just made your whole day. Birds don’t care if you’re anxious. They don’t care if your to-do list is too long. They show up and sing anyway. So take a deep breath, look up, and remember: Birding is for every body—and every mind. With big thanks to @xoxosalsagirl for the reminders and the photos! #BirdingHeals #MentalHealthAwareness #BirdingIsForEveryBody #DisabilityJusticeOutdoors #BirdingWhileDisabled #NatureAsMedicine #MindfulnessInNature #JoyfulBirding #BrainHygiene #YourBrainOnBirds Image description: Slide one is a Black-headed Grosbeak in FULL body preen. All tail feathers fully open in a tree, with head cocked to the side. Slide two is a Great Horned Owl and their baby, who is eating in a palm tree. Slide three is an Anna's Hummingbird on her TINY nest. All photos by Birdability Captain Emily Nichols! (fb)

To wrap up Mental Health Awareness Month, we’re reflecting on our Accessible Birding for Mental Health webinar that was held on Wednesday and the powerful research, tips, and stories shared by Tammah Watts, Elizabeth Monje, and Eric Clow. The full recording is now available on YouTube, and our newest blog post highlights some of the many stand-out moments. 🔵Read the blog at our website https://www.birdability.org/blog - link in bio and our stories 🔵Watch the webinar: https://youtu.be/diyV_qEdPk0 at our YouTube channel @birdability and link in the blog 🔵Follow our amazing panelists @tammahwatts @realbirdcitynews @parttimebirders and learn more about their work Thank you to the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation for supporting this conversation, and to everyone building a world where birding is for every body and every mind. #BirdingIsForEveryBody #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth #AccessibleOutdoors #DisabilityJustice #Birdability #MindfulBirding #BirdingHeals Image description: This is a screenshot of a webinar with five Zoom boxes. The moderator, three panelists, and an ASL interpreter are frozen in mid-conversation as they discuss accessible birding for mental health. (fb)