Frequently asked questions

Is NYC Audubon the same organization as the National Audubon Society?

New York City Audubon is an independent non-profit organization. We affiliate with and often collaborate with Audubon New York and the National Audubon Society, but we are a separate entity from these organizations.

How do I get started as a beginning birder?

Our Birding Resources page is a great place to start! Our Birding 101 page provides helpful information to get you started, while our Birding in NYC section guides through over 100 parks and highlights the many birds you can find within them. Beginners are welcome on any NYC Audubon bird walk, but we do offer beginner-specific walks throughout the year. Check out our Events and Birding page and browse through and sign up for a program. 

What binoculars should I buy?

Please visit our Birding 101 page for binocular basics. For more information and reviews of binoculars, see this very thorough Cornell Lab of Ornithology run-down of binoculars or this excellent birding binoculars guide created by B&H Photo Video with input from many experienced birders in the NYC birding community and across the country.

What do I do if I find a dead or injured bird?

Finding a dead or injured bird is far too common an occurrence in our city. Most dead and injured birds found are victims of building collisions. Through Project Safe Flight research, we estimate between 90,000 to 230,000 birds collide with buildings in our city each year. If you find a dead or injured bird, please report it to our crowd-sourced bird mortality and injury database at dBird.org. If you find an injured bird, please visit our Found an Injured Bird page to learn what you can do to help the bird.

Does NYC Audubon rehabilitate birds?

NYC Audubon does not operate a rehabilitation facility and does not employ rehabbers. We work closely with partners such as the Wild Bird Fund and The Raptor Trust to get birds found by others the professional care they need. If you find an injured bird that needs professional rehabilitation, please visit our Found an Injured Bird page to learn what you can do to help the bird.

I need to find a new home for my pet bird, do you take pet birds?

We do not take in live birds of any kind. Please contact a pet bird rescue organization such as the Long Island Parrot Society for information on finding a home for your pet bird. 

What is the difference between a donation and a membership contribution?

A donation contribution supports our organization’s mission of protecting birds and their habitats in the city’s five boroughs. A membership contribution supports these exact same efforts as well, but also provides you with benefits depending on your membership level, including a subscription to our quarterly publication The Urban Audubon, a 30% discount on most trips and classes, invitations to free members-only events, and more. View benefits for each level of NYC Audubon membership here. 

How do I check the status of my membership?

NYC Audubon can check the status of their membership through our NeonCRM membership portal. If you have already created a username and password, log in to our membership portal here. If you are a NYC Audubon member and have not created an account yet, please visit this page and enter the email you used when creating your NYC Audubon membership. After submitting, you will be sent an email with instructions on how to set up your login for your account. For further questions related to membership, contact membership@nycaudubon.org 

Where is my tote bag/calendar?

NYC Audubon does not offer tote bags or calendars as membership premiums. Please contact the National Audubon Society’s membership team at customerservice@audubon.org for questions about their membership premiums. NYC Audubon is an independent bird conservation organization affiliated with the national organization as an urban chapter.

Do I have to be a member to go to NYC Audubon events?

No, you do not have to be a NYC Audubon member to attend or register for most all of our events. NYC Audubon members do receive benefits on our paid local trips and classes, such as a 30% discount on registration and an exclusive one-week window to register for these trips and classes before the general public can register for them. While some of our more popular paid trips and classes do sell out during this one-week period, you will find there is usually a good selection of walks that still have space available or are free to attend without registration each season. The only exception is our members-only walks in the fall and spring, which are indeed only open to NYC Audubon members to register for free. 

How do I register for a paid trip or class?

Our fee-based trips and classes are quite popular and sell out rather quickly once opened for registration! Please see below for tips and a walkthrough of our fee-based event registration forms to ensure you can quickly register for events when they are opened. 

First page of fee-based registration form:
  • All fields are required to enter. 
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  • If you are purchasing more than one ticket for an event, please indicate the number of tickets in the “Number of Attendees” field. 
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  • Please enter your Membership Discount Code in order to receive discounted member admission pricing.
  • Please read the “Waiver Statement” below the first-page form and check “Yes, I agree” at the bottom of the statement before clicking the “continue” button to move to the next page of the form.  
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Second page of form:

  • Please review the attendee information on this page. 
  • If you selected “Include myself as attendee” on the first page of the form, your contact information will be shown as attendee 1. 
  • If you selected more than 1 for “Number of Attendees,” on the first page, please add additional attendees’ contact info in the subsequent “attendee” fields. 
If you selected \"Add myself as attendee\" in first page form, your contact information will be displayed as \"Attendee 1.\" Please enter additional attendee information (if you selected to purchase more than 1 ticket using the \"Number of Attendees\" field on previous page of form) in the subsequent \"Attendee\" sections. "}" data-trix-content-type="undefined" class="attachment attachment--content"> If you selected "Add myself as attendee" in first page form, your contact information will be displayed as "Attendee 1." Please enter additional attendee information (if you selected to purchase more than 1 ticket using the "Number of Attendees" field on previous page of form) in the subsequent "Attendee" sections.
  • For each attendee, please select “Member Admission” to receive discounted pricing for each attendee.


Third page of form:

  • Please review your registration info on this page.
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  • You have the option to register for additional events before submitting your order by clicking on the “Register for another Event” button. Many events sell out fast, so we advise against this, but you do have the option to register for multiple events before checking out using this button. Your current event registration will be saved in NeonCRM’s Shopping Cart. 
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  • Clicking on the “complete registration” button will then take you to the payment information page. 

4th page of form:
  • Please enter your credit card number, expiration date, and CVV security code, along with contact information associated with your card. Our entire site is 100% encrypted to ensure your information is safe with us. 
Please enter your credit card number, expiration date, and CVV security code on this page, along with the contact information associated with your card. If you would like to cover the processing costs for this registration, please check the box above the credit card information field. We appreciate it! "}" data-trix-content-type="undefined" class="attachment attachment--content"> Please enter your credit card number, expiration date, and CVV security code on this page, along with the contact information associated with your card. If you would like to cover the processing costs for this registration, please check the box above the credit card information field. We appreciate it!
  • After you click "Submit" at the bottom of the form, your registration is confirmed when you see a page with a message thanking you for your event registration. Details about your registration will be sent shortly to the email address you provided through the registration form. 
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Confirmation Page:
  • On the confirmation page, you can register for additional events quickly by clicking the "What would you like to do?" drop-down box and selecting "current events."  
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ADDITIONAL NOTES:

Waitlist:
If a walk is sold out, you can add yourself to the event waitlist using page 2 of the form. (No more need to email waitlist requests!) If a spot opens up, you will be notified by email.
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Any questions or problems registering for fee-based walks or trips?

Email Public Programs Manager Roslyn Rivas at rrivas@nycaudubon.org.