Follow the Birds with Swift icon
Follow the Birds with Swift icon

Experience Bird Migration Together

Notice what's moving. See where the birds are going. Share the stories they carry.

The Bird Migration Gathering

October 10, 8 AM MDT (UTC -6)  •  Live Online  •  Replay Available

This World Migratory Bird Day, step outside—or simply look through your window—and join bird lovers around the world in experiencing migration as it happens.

Early Bird Registration · $25

Register by September 20
$50 beginning September 21

Your Gathering Registration Includes

  • The live Global Bird Sit

  • The optional live Migration Stories Game Gathering on Sunday

  • Immediate access to The Gathering Place

  • Migration technology + field-practice conversations

  • Community story sharing throughout the Gathering

  • Replay access to Saturday's Global Bird Sit

  • 10% of registration revenue donated to Environment for the Americas

10% of every registration supports Environment for the Americas and its work connecting people around the word with migratory birds.

one shared migration.

Experience Migration From Where You Are

You don't need to travel to experience bird migration globally.

On World Migratory Bird Day, we'll move between our own patches of sky and the extraordinary movement happening across the planet.

See More

Enhance your awareness of migration both locally and globally—from the birds outside your window to movements unfolding across entire flyways

Experience Together

Join guided birding experiences and bring your observations, questions, photographs, field notes for live conversations designed to help us notice and wonder together.

World Migratory Bird Day

Saturday  •  October 10  •  8-10 AM MDT (UTC -6)

The Global Bird Sit

A guided migration practice

Begin outdoors, beside an open window, or wherever you can meet the morning.

We'll slow down and notice migration first through our own senses: movement, sound, weather, direction, behavior, absence, and arrival.

Then we'll widen the view.

Together, we'll explore tools such as eBird, BirdCast, and the Global Flyway Network to see how our individual observations fit into the much larger movement of birds across landscapes and continents.

Come away seeing both your local birds and global migration differently.

Stay for Sunday, if you want  •  October 11  •  8-10 AM MDT (UTC -6)

Optional Migration Stories Game Gathering

Wingspan, migration, and the stories behind the birds

Pull up a chair and bring your Wingspan Board.

We'll play together using birds from across Wingspan's global expansions while letting the cards lead us somewhere beyond the game: into migration routes, places we've birded, species we've encountered, cultures we've learned from, and stories we haven't heard yet.

Part game gathering. Part bird conversation. Part trip around the world.

No expertise required—just curiosity and a willingness to play.

Don’t own Wingspan? Come anyway. Observers are welcome to follow along and join in the stories.

The Gathering begins when you register

Inside The Gathering Place, bird lovers can exchange discoveries and ideas before and throughout the weekend.

How are we following birds?

GPS tracking  •  acoustic montoring  •  BirdCast  •  feed cams  •  migration technology

How are we learning to see them?

Photography  •  nature journaling  •  field notebooks  •  optics  •  field practices

What are the birds showing us?

Local sightings  •  migration arrivals and departures  •  changing behavior  •  questions from the field

What stories are traveling with them?

Places  •  people  •  memories  •  cultures  •  encounters

“It’s a great thing just to have the possibility to join with all the other bird freaks here.”
— Simone, Germany

“I wasn’t aware of the migration route via Asia from Alaska to Australia… I’m happy that I joined, even if I only partly joined.”
— Regina, Germany

“Listening to Scott Weidensaul discuss his work is a giant step up.”
— Anne Crosby

“The heartfelt, authentic discussions made me feel hopeful.”
— Della, California

“We are all connected.”
— Cheryl Jordan, California

Follow the Birds is a global gathering place for people who love birds—
and want to experience birding as something shared, meaningful, and alive, rather than solitary.

Birds move across borders. 

So do stories.
So can attention.

Birding doesn’t stop between gatherings—and neither do we.

We stay connected through year-round noticing, sharing, and conversation.
At certain moments, that shared attention gathers—when birds are on the move and we pause together.

Why people return

Noticing—Spot migration patterns you used to miss

Orienting—See your local birds within global movement

Connecting—Swap sightings & stories without needing a public persona

Belonging—Feel part of a worldwide birding community

Being—Enjoy birding with more ease and play

Becoming neighbors—Care for birds and people across borders

Voices from around the world

Rick, Colorado
About Bird Migration Gathering
Inaugural Bird Migration Gathering 2025

"The thing that really strikes me is increased awareness… access to these talks is a wonderful asset — a way of expanding awareness and understanding."

Simone, Germany
About Bird Migration Gathering
Inaugural Bird Migration Gathering 2025

"It’s a great thing just to have the possibility to join with all the other bird freaks here. I love it."

Regina, Germany
About Bird Migration Gathering
Inaugural Bird Migration Gathering 2025

"I wasn’t aware of the migration route via Asia from Alaska to Australia… I’m very much inspired, and I’m happy that I joined, even if I only partly joined."

Turn Birding Into a Shared Global Experience

Here, you’ll join stories of migration from scientists, artists, storytellers, and bird lovers worldwide.

What you'll experience at the Bird Migration Gathering:

  • Stories that inspire — culture, place, and meaning in every flight path.

  • Global voices sharing migration journeys across continents.

  • Guidance from artists + scientists to expand how you see birds (and yourself).

  • A movement of belonging — birding as shared joy, not just a solo pursuit.

This Is Where Birding Becomes Community

Your joy in birding becomes a shared celebration — every story expanding your world, every voice reminding you that you belong.

Meet the guides who will inspire and connect you with a worldwide circle of bird lovers.

Scott Weidensaul ranks among an elite group of writer-naturalists.” 

Los Angeles Times

Scott Weidensaul

New Hampshire, USA

Following Migration Across Hemispheres

Craig Foster

Cape Town, South Africa

Intimacy With the Wild

Dan Puplett

Scotland, UK

Reading Nature’s Hidden Stories

Julie Zickefoose

Ohio, USA

Personal Habitats, Avian Individuals

VIP Live Q&A on Thursday, 10/23 @ 2 pm MDT

Jon Young

California, USA

Bird Language and Ancient Wisdom

VIP Live Q&A on Friday, 10/24 @ 10 am MDT

George Bumann

Montana, USA

Sculpting Stories of the Wild

Lynn Wickersham

Colorado, USA

Mindful Science in the Field

VIP Live Q&A on Friday, 10/24 @ 2 pm MDT

John Muir Laws

California, USA

Drawing Birds for Nature Journaling

Richard Fuller

Queensland, Australia

Migration Without Borders

Elizabeth Mills

England, UK

Connecting Seas and Skies

Want more? Go VIP: Extended Access with keynote Q&As + Game Night Sessions live October 23-25.

Explore the Daily Lineup – See Where Your Journey Can Lead

Your place in the Gathering awaits

Join live kickoffs, intimate gatherings, and presentations you can revisit anytime.

Imagine hearing a migration story from halfway across the world — and realizing it echoes your own.

This is how you join the Gathering:

  1. Claim your spot today

  2. Connect early — Get instant access to The Gathering Place community forum.

  3. Belong everywhere — Join live sessions and on-demand presentations during the 3-day event, October 23-25.

Jon Young is one of the heroes of the new nature movement.”

Richard Louv, author of The Nature Principle

Black Swift in flight

A seasonal pathway into globally connected birding

This shared practice comes to life through birds—
through migration, shared stories, and online Gatherings that connect people across places, seasons, and lived experience.

This is birding as relationship:
with place, with movement, and with one another.

There’s nothing to master here—it’s a shared practice of noticing birds, place, and movement together.

Left to right: Kelly Miller (Host), Jon Young (Bird Language & Ancient Wisdom), and
Craig Foster (Intimacy With the Wild)

Choose Your Ticket

Event Access – $50

  • 7 days of connection and discovery — access to each session (through November 1, 2025) 

  • Daily live gatherings — kickoffs and interactive sessions

  • Flexible pace — stream new talks each day when it fits your schedule

VIP Extended Access – $100

  • 365 days of inspiration — revisit every presentation all year long (through Oct 26, 2026)

  • Exclusive live Q&As — connect directly with select keynote speakers

  • Community fun — Thursday & Friday Game Night Sessions included

  • Return anytime — rekindle your sense of wonder and belonging whenever you need it

Don’t Bird Alone. Join the Flock.

Birds don’t see borders. Why should we?

From mountains to mangroves, deserts to deltas — their migrations remind us of our shared humanity.

Imagine swapping bird stories with someone from halfway across the world — and realizing you’re part of something bigger. Join bird lovers across continents in one shared Gathering.

Every Bird Counts. Every Observation Connects Us.

Your registration gives back.

10% of Bird Migration Gathering registration revenue will be donated to Environment for the Americas, one of the global partners behind World Migratory Bird Day, supporting its work connecting people with birds through education, conservation, and community engagement.

7 Practices for a More Meaningful Birding Life

A quiet way to begin

A free guide drawn from global birding voices.
A quiet way to begin deepening your birding life today.

Featuring guidance inspired by the work of these and more:
Scott Weidensaul (World on the Wing)
Julie Zickefoose (The Bluebird Effect)
Jon Young (What the Robin Knows)

Where the migration conversation continues

The Birders Hub lives between Gatherings —
a shared space for noticing, stories, and ongoing conversation across seasons

Gatherings are moments of connection.
The Birders Hub is where that connection continues year-round.

The Birders Hub lives between Gatherings —
a shared space for noticing, stories, and conversation as migration unfolds across the seasons.

If the Gathering sparked something you’d like to carry forward, this is where that conversation continues.

Inside the Hub you’ll find:

  • the full Bird Migration Gathering session library

  • live gatherings and shared conversations throughout the year

  • guided reflections and creative practices

  • a welcoming community of bird lovers across places and flyways

Membership is now open.

A place to return during migration season — and beyond.

Membership from $80/month • Annual option available

Bird Migration Connects Us Across the Planet

October 10

Birds trace invisible lines across the sky—and when we follow them, we discover each other.

One person notices swallows gathering in Colorado. Another watches shorebirds arriving thousands of miles away. Someone else hears a familiar migrant returning outside their window.

Different places. Different birds. One movement.

The Bird Migration Gathering gives us a place to notice those connections together.

Stories in Flight

Across flyways, seasons, and lives shaped by birds.

Get oriented to migration where you live

See what’s happening across flyways
(without doom scrolling)

Receive migration stories, seasonal reflections, and updates about the October Gathering.

No pressure. Unsubscribe anytime.

Follow the Birds with Swifts in flight

Not ready to join the email list?

PO Box 3152
Durango, Colorado, 81303
United States

Contact Us

kelly@followthebirds.com
+1 (602) 291-7319
Mountain Daylight Time (UTC−07:00)

Follow the Birds is based in the southern Rocky Mountains of Durango, Colorado, USA.
We follow migration as a guide—across landscapes, cultures, and seasons.
~ Founder, Kelly Miller

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© 2025 Follow the Birds™️. All rights reserved. Follow the Birds is a registered business entity in the United States.