Bird’s the word: Paradise Audubon Society provides community for bird lovers on campus

The Paradise Audubon Society, formerly known as the Ornithology Club, is new to campus but is already making a big difference. Founded by UI law student Tyler Coleman, the Paradise Audubon Society is a group of students interested in bird watching, known as birding, and provides a community for likeminded UI students. The club aims to promote education about birds and works towards the preservation of native bird species and habitats. 

After moving from Texas to Moscow for law school, Coleman explained that he was looking for a way to meet new people and decided that starting a club around one of his passions, birding, was the perfect place to start. 

“When I moved here from Texas, I didn’t know anybody here. and I really wanted to meet people who are also super into birding. So, I thought, what better way than to just start a club?” Coleman said. 

Coleman founded the Ornithology club in November of 2023, and is currently the president, but soon after it’s founding the club became affiliated with the National Audubon Society through the Audubon on campus program. After becoming associated with National Audubon, a society dedicated to protecting and preserving birds across the world, the goals of the club shifted from just a birder community to one dedicated to bird education and preservation in our area. 

“Our mission changed a little bit from just wanting a group of birder friends to something a lot bigger. Our club is dedicated to education about birds. Education about the importance of native habitats and preserving our native species and we have a lot of projects coming up with National Audubon,” Coleman said. 

Currently, one of the primary events the club hosts each month is a bird count in the Arboretum. Club members and anyone interested spend a Saturday morning walking the Arb and searching for as many species of birds as they can find. 

“The bird count is just an opportunity for people who are really into birds or people who don’t really know anything about birds, people who just maybe want to get out and have an opportunity to learn about something that they haven’t learned about before. To get out with a with a group of people and just have a nice morning and afternoon looking for birds and taking an interest in it,” Coleman said. 

There is a regular bird count planned for the second Saturday of every month, and the event is free to attend so anyone is welcome. The bird watch is a great opportunity for students interested in the club to check it out and meet new people. 

“It’s a good opportunity for people who might be kind of interested but maybe don’t want to go out on a whole field trip, to see birds when they might not know anything about birds,” Coleman said.  

Beyond just opportunities for bird watching and spending time with the birder community in Moscow, the club is also working towards several projects to improve the habitats of birds in this area and promote bird education on campus. One such project is the plants for birds’ program, in which the club hopes to create native plant gardens on campus to support birds and bees. 

“One project that Audubon is really passionate about is plants for birds. This is a really cool initiative where the all the campus chapters are supposed to create native plant gardens on campus,” Coleman said. “So, it’s our goal to have several different locations on campus, where we can plant and maintain native species.” 

With 31 current members, Coleman explained that the club is beginner friendly and students with no previous knowledge or interest in birds are welcome. 

“I personally, have seen a lot of people who had no interest in birds at all, but once you start noticing, instead of just a silhouette of a bird flying above you, you actually start noticing what exactly that bird is, and you know how to ID it now, it’s all you can think about,” Coleman said. “Once you can start identifying those few common ones, then you’re always going to look for birds and wonder if you’ve seen this one before.” 

The club also plans to host lectures on ornithology and bird law in the coming months and take field trips to local spots to bird watch. Anyone looking to get involved is encouraged to attend one of the monthly bird counts at the arboretum or reach out and find more information on the Engage page. 

“I would say just check it out, go to one of our watches or one of our field trips. This is also just a fun community, everybody in it is super cool and the club is thriving for being only two months old,” Coleman said. 

Grace Giger can be reached at [email protected]