Lane County Queer Birders Host Monthly Inclusive Birding Outings in Eugene, Springfield

Lane County Queer Birders (LCQB) is organizing monthly birdwatching outings across Eugene and Springfield to create inclusive outdoor spaces for LGBTQIA+ people and allies, and recently promoted a winter morning walk at Alton Baker Park on Instagram. The group presents itself as grassroots and accessible; its site states, “Lane County Queer Birders is a free, volunteer-run community group organized without compensation or profit.”

Local coverage includes human details that surface the community behind the outings. A Register-Guard profile includes a portrait of Samantha Pierotti and recounts Amy Sherman’s early birding memories, noting that “Amy Sherman’s spark bird was a Steller's jay,” that “She has an early memory of her mom singing her a song about Mr. Blue Jay coming to play in her yard,” and that “She was only 2 years old, but already was fascinated with the idea of observing birds around her home, which her parents rigorously encouraged.” Those personal histories anchor LCQB outings in family and place even as the group emphasizes broader inclusion.

LCQB foregrounds Indigenous relationships in its public materials. The site opens with a land acknowledgement: “Lane County Queer Birders respectfully acknowledges that we gather and bird on Kalapuya īlihi, the ancestral and traditional homelands of the Kalapuya people.” The group adds that “For countless generations, the Kalapuya were careful stewards of the prairies, rivers, forests, and wetlands that continue to sustain life in what is now called Eugene, Oregon,” and explicitly names tribal associations: “Today, Kalapuya descendants are part of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. We also recognize the enduring presence and sovereignty of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and the Chelamela people, whose relationships to this land persist despite attempted erasure through colonization, displacement, and violence.”

LCQB pairs acknowledgement with stated practices and policy commitments. The group writes, “We understand that land, identity, survival, and resistance are deeply intertwined, and that acknowledgment without action is incomplete.” It continues, “We commit to redistribution within our capacity, by sharing opportunities for mutual aid, community fundraisers, and Indigenous-led environmental and cultural efforts, and by encouraging direct support whenever possible,” and “We commit to building safer outdoor space, by fostering birding environments that actively resist racism, colonial norms, and cisheteropatriarchy, and prioritize the dignity and safety of Indigenous, Two-Spirit, neurodiverse, and LGBTQIA+ participants.” The site closes that section with: “We offer this acknowledgment and these commitments with gratitude for the land that holds us, and with an ongoing responsibility to act with care, humility, and intention, for the communities of the past, present, and future who call this place home.”

Practically, LCQB lists resources and contact channels on its site: “ABA Birding Ethics,” “Bird-Window Collision Prevention,” “What to do if you find an injured bird,” and “Support LCQB.” Contact labels include “e-bird,” “Instagram,” “Email LCQB,” and “Join the mailing list.” Media credits on the site read, “All bird images taken during LCQB outings by Karl Shaffer,” and the page bears “© Lane County Queer Birders 2026.”

The group operates within a wider Eugene-Springfield culture that markets itself as welcoming; Travel Lane County materials note that “Eugene became a popular destination for progressive thought and counterculture in the 1960s and has continued to be an example of inclusion and innovation to this day,” that “Eugene and Springfield's annual Pride Festival is a safe place for celebrating local diversity with food and entertainment for everyone, both those who identify as LGBTQIA+ and those who wish to support,” and that “In 2016, the Advocate ranked Eugene twelfth in their compilation of the Queerest Cities in America.”

Public LCQB materials leave several operational questions open: the site and publicity confirm monthly outings and list contact channels, but do not give founders’ names, specific scheduling mechanics beyond “monthly,” average attendance, named Indigenous or nonprofit partners, or exact dates and RSVP procedures for events such as the Alton Baker Park winter birding. To join or confirm an outing, check LCQB’s Instagram or e-bird postings, email LCQB, or join the mailing list as listed on the group’s site.