The Delaware Valley Ornithological Club (DVOC) is one of the oldest ornithology organizations in the United States. Founded in 1890, the club has held regular meetings at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia for over 125 years, and has published the periodical Cassinia since 1901. Membership is open to any dues paying person with an interest in birds. The club organizes birding field trips throughout the Delaware River valley region, including a dedicated year-round trip schedule within the city limits of Philadelphia (BirdPhilly).
Latest News and Info
Bob Billings Big Year Award
Results of the 2024 Photo Contest
Nominating Committee Report
Meetings
February 20, 2025 @ 7:15 pm - 9:30 pm
1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia
The in-person portion of the meeting will be held at the Academy of Natural Sciences, BEES classroom (3rd floor).
Meeting agenda:
7:15 PM: Zoom opens
7:30-8 PM: Club business
8 PM: Presentation followed by questions (might start earlier if club business finishes earlier).
Please register for the meeting whether you will be attending in person or via Zoom. Then watch for the meeting link in your email. Disregard the meeting link if you will be attending in person.
A Young Birder’s Take on Birding
Speaker: Ethan Kang
Garnet Valley Living, January 2024 Cover by Stacey Zarro
Ever wonder what young birders are up to in the local community? New technologies and resources that budding birders may utilize? From the perspective of a passionate young birder, Ethan Kang will share his personal birding experiences. He will explore new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and nocturnal flight calls (NFCs), the proliferation of messaging apps and social media, some of his personal experiences at the DVOC-sponsored Frontiers in Ornithology Youth Symposium, and his community involvement at school-level birding clubs and his local PA Bird Town.
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Meeting the Nēnēs in Hawaii
Ethan Kang, a high school Junior, is a passionate young birder and community leader. By day, he frequently birds his yard or local patch. By night, he records nocturnal flight calls during migration. He enjoys cataloging his findings in eBird, having accumulated thousands of observations, photos, audio, and video recordings. Beyond personal birding, he serves as a founding member of the Concord Township Bird Town committee, staffing tables at events and designing bird signage. In his school community, Ethan volunteers as a guide for the Bethel Springs Elementary School Trailblazers Birding Club. Additionally, he founded the Garnet Valley High School Birding Club, inspiring students to learn and appreciate birds through presentations, activities, and field trips; he created his website, Beary Birding with a similar mission: to inspire the next generation of birders through information, entertainment and conversation.
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Field Trips
Free to all members and non-members
Join BirdPhilly on Friday Feb. 14 and Feb. 21 from 12pm to 1pm for Lunch with Ducks at The Navy Yard
We will meet at 13th and Admiral Peary Way and learn about our overwintering guests on the Delaware River!
We hope to see Canvasbacks, Ruddy Ducks, Scaup, Buffleheads, Bald Eagles, various Gulls, and maybe a Peregrine Falcon or two!
Trip Leader will have a scope for easy viewing of ducks, so no binoculars are necessary. Feel free to bring them if you have them though!
Also feel free to bring your lunch, there are a few benches along the river to enjoy the ducks and eat at, but please remember to NOT feed the wildlife!
Weather can be variable, but it is usually colder and windier by the river, so please dress accordingly.
Please park on 13th Street, and avoid parking in any private lots.
Unfortunately, there are no accessible bathrooms in the area.
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http://ebird.org/ebird/hotspot/L161004
Free to all members and non-members
Barnegat Inlet SP lies at the northern tip of Long Beach Island, NJ. We will meet birders at the State Park lot behind the famous lighthouse at 8:30 AM. After scanning Barnegat Bay, we will walk alongside the jetty bordering the Inlet, birding there and along the Atlantic Ocean beach, returning to the lighthouse by 12:30 pm through the dunes. Target birds include Harlequin and Long-tailed Ducks, Common Eider, Purple Sandpiper and Great Cormorant and Ipswich Sparrows. We hope for Snow Buntings and other winter birds along the way.
Birders should anticipate cold and windy conditions, and dress accordingly. Trip will be cancelled if conditions are unsafe. Please check the website the day before the trip.
Bathrooms available at the lighthouse. There is also a deli nearby for sandwiches. Water and sunblock recommended.
We will stop at a few other spots along the back bay if time permits for Goldeneyes and Mergansers.
Email [email protected] if needed.
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BirdPhilly is an initiative of the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club. Founded in 1890, the DVOC has been based at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia since 1891. The DVOC runs fields trips throughout the tri-state region, however BirdPhilly focuses on trips within in Philadelphia city limits in collaboration with Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and the Fairmount Park Conservancy.
Through BirdPhilly our goal is to increase interest and awareness of Philadelphia’s birds by providing quality birding experiences on expertly guided field trips. All field trips are free unless the site charges an admission fee. These trips are open to children, adults, and well behaved pets. BirdPhilly also participates in DVOC’s Philadelphia Bird Race to raise funds for conservation and research projects.
The club enthusiastically welcomes new members – young people, beginners and anyone else who is genuinely interested in birding. Members benefit from the wealth of information and expertise that this club offers. The bi-annual club journal, Cassinia, is provided to members.
People interested in receiving the club's weekly email newsletter can sign up by using the button below. Note that new club members start to receive the newsletter automatically after joining the club.
© Bert Filemyr
The Delaware Valley is the name given to the region that lays on either side of the Delaware River, centered on Philadelphia. This consists of southeastern Pennsylvania, central and southern New Jersey and the state of Delaware. Tell me more...
The following counties fall within our boundaries.
In Pennsylvania;
Berks County, Bucks County, Chester County, Delaware County, Lancaster County, Lebanon County, Lehigh County, Montgomery County, Northampton County and Philadelphia County.
In New Jersey;
Atlantic County, Burlington County, Camden County, Cape May County, Cumberland County, Gloucester County, Hunterdon County, Mercer County, Middlesex County, Monmouth County, Ocean County, Salem County, Somerset County and Warren County.
In Delaware;
New Castle County, Kent County and Sussex County
DVOC Flickr Page
Want to see and share photos of Delaware Valley birds? Check out our Flickr page.
BirdPhilly is an initiative of the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club. Founded in 1890, the DVOC has been based at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia since 1891. The DVOC runs fields trips throughout the tri-state region, however BirdPhilly focuses on trips within in Philadelphia city limits in collaboration with Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and the Fairmount Park Conservancy.
Through BirdPhilly our goal is to increase interest and awareness of Philadelphia’s birds by providing quality birding experiences on expertly guided field trips. All field trips are free unless the site charges an admission fee. These trips are open to children, adults, and well behaved pets. BirdPhilly also participates in DVOC’s Philadelphia Bird Race to raise funds for conservation and research projects.
New Bins for New Birders (NB4NB)
Partnering with DVOC's World Series of Birding Team's corporate sponsor, Nikon Sport Optics, NB4NB is committed to supplying new, serviceable binoculars to organizations that expose young people to birding and the outdoors. We focus on those organizations that are local to the Delaware Valley Region: southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Delaware.
You can quickly and easily make a donation to various DVOC initiatives using PayPal. Click the "Donate" button above to do see a list of initiatives. If you have a Paypal Account please log in. If you do not, use the "Don't have a PayPal account?" section in the lower left-hand corner of the page that appears after you click one of the "Donate" buttons on the next page.
The DVOC is a 501(c)(3) organization.
Contributions to DVOC are tax-deductible.