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Wheelchair Birding

Great bird-watching opportunities abound at these easy-access hotspots of North America.
by Ron Smith

Imagine this: You are sitting in a wheelchair. A quarter-mile down the refuge trail a bird is singing. It would be your 600th lifer! But because of the dense alders you cannot see it. In your hands you hold one of the top three binoculars in the world, and stuffed in your vest (which has all the right patches, by the way) is the foremost field guide. Your electric cart–type wheelchair can go more than five miles per hour—better than a late-for-your-plane airport hustle. But all of these advantages are useless. Why? The trail two feet in front of you has a bicycle barrier that you could overcome only with a crane.

Many wheelchair bird watchers have been in the same situation or one producing the same frustration. Granted, many birders have some sort of disability:

“What tyrannulet? I can’t hear it!”

“My tennis elbow is making it hard for me to lift these blasted binoculars.”

“I’ve got to get my eyes checked.”

However, if you are a wheelchair user birding can be a bit more of a problem than these minor handicaps. Commonly encountered obstacles are the pitch of the ground, tangles of brush, logs, mud, sand, observation deck rails that block your view, and even pelagic predicaments.

Hundreds upon hundreds of species can be seen by just driving up to a lake, desert area, or marsh and using a scope with a window mount or your binoculars. From my car I once saw an elegant trogon fly over the parking lot of a research station in the Chiricahuas.

Let’s look at actually getting out on the trails and becoming a part of the natural world and making a true connection with wildlife. We do not require or expect the world to be totally accessible—we ask for no heliports at Boot Canyon to enable us to see the Colima warbler.

Adaptability is the motto of the handicapped. Because of the kindness of strangers and friends, I have been lifted in and out of boats and even through the iron bars of a gate—with permission, of course. But we hate to ask for help.

Fortunately there are many refuges and city, county, and state parks with trails into the heart of the woods and marshes where one can feel the lift of self-reliance, be out in the fresh air, hear the sweet flute of the hermit thrush, smell the pines, see the rosy face of the red-faced warbler, and wince at the mosquito bites.

I have compiled a short list of wheelchair-accessible birding spots in North America. Some states, communities, and even private groups are doing the same. Please remember that changes are always taking place in these areas, and always check with the visitor center before you attempt the trails. If you would like to know more about the sites listed here, see the information at the end of the article. The Navajos have a wonderful saying: “Walk in beauty.” Now you can roll in it!

For a complete description of all the parks Ron Smith discusses in this article, please read the September/October 2001 issue of Bird Watcher's Digest

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