Volunteer Opportunities

The 124th annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count—the nation's longest-running Community-Science bird project—will soon be underway nationwide, and in all five boroughs of New York City. Anyone can participate, even beginner birders! NYC Audubon is coordinating counts for the New Jersey Lower Hudson (NJLH) count circle, which includes all of Manhattan, Governors Island, Randall's Island, and parts of northern New Jersey. 

Oftentimes, people find an injured bird in need of treatment but are unable to bring it to a rehabilitation center themselves. Injured Bird Transporters are needed to travel to locations throughout the city and carry injured or orphaned birds to the Wild Bird Fund or another rehabilitation center. Transporters can determine for themselves based on their schedule and location whether or not to answer a request sent to the Injured Bird Transporters team. In general, this volunteer opportunity calls for a medium-time commitment that is dependent on the transporter’s own location and the pickup location for the bird. If interested, please email Community Science Manager Katherine Chen at kchen@nycaudubon.org for more information. 

Public Festival volunteers engage the public with conservation and birds at NYC Audubon festivals, primarily held on Saturdays and Sundays across New York City. Volunteers should be able to communicate comfortably with festival participants. Interested? Please fill out our quick and easy form to indicate your availability and we will be in touch when opportunities arise!

(Questions? Contact Public Programs Manager Roslyn Rivas at rrivas@nycaudubon.org.) 

Feathered Friends is an afterschool program created by NYC Audubon board member Christian Cooper. Together with AmPark Neighborhood School in the Bronx, NYC Audubon volunteers take 4th and 5th grade students to Van Cortlandt Park for weekly hour-long bird outings. The kids get to enjoy time outside and learn about the natural world!

Volunteers will meet at AmPark Neighborhood School one day a week for the month of May to the first week of June. If you would like to volunteer in spring 2024, please contact Michele Gennaoui at mgenn@att.net.

Governors Island volunteers engage the public with conservation and birds at NYC Audubon's seasonal environmental center on Governors Island, as well as support NYC Audubon's Governors Island Artist in Residence (AiR) program. Volunteers are needed during our open season from May-October, Fridays-Sundays. Volunteers should be able to communicate comfortably with Island visitors. Interested? Please fill out our quick and easy form to indicate your availability and we will be in touch when opportunities arise!

Read more about our Governors Island programs before registering.

(Still have questions? Contact Advocacy and Engagement Associate Jesse McLaughlin at jmclaughlin@nycaudubon.org.)

New Yorkers find injured and baby birds year-round but are unsure of how to help. Injured Bird Response Team volunteers answer injured bird inquiries sent to NYC Audubon via phone or email, and -- if needed -- putting out an alert to our Injured Bird Transport Team to take the bird to a rehabilitation center.

Signups of the Injured Bird Response Team are currently closed. Please check back in March 2024 or subscribe to our eGret newsletter to receive monthly email notifications about all of our volunteer opportunities. 

Did you know that up to a quarter million birds die from collisions with New York City's buildings each year as they migrate through our area in the spring and fall? Volunteers help NYC Audubon study the causes of these collisions and ways to prevent them by monitoring select street routes early in the morning for dead and injured birds. Learn more about Project Safe Flight here. 

PSF signups for fall 2023 are closed. To receive email notifications about opportunities in spring 2024, subscribe to our eGret newsletter.

Volunteers join NYC Audubon for 12 nights in May and June to count and tag spawning Atlantic Horseshoe Crabs, the eggs of which are an critical food source for migrating shorebirds like the endangered Red Knot.

Horseshoe crab monitoring for 2023 has concluded. To receive email notifications about opportunities in 2024, subscribe to our eGret newsletter.