Choose Your Own Adventure - Daily Menu

  • Sunday, May 24

  • Monday, May 25

  • Tuesday, May 26

  • Wednesday, May 27

  • Thursday, May 28

  • Friday, May 29

  • Saturday, May 30

This year we are featuring the

Laridae Family!

These birds all belong to the scientific family Laridae, and honestly, they are the ultimate squabblers of the shoreline.

Some fun facts about this bird family:

• SKIMMERS are the only birds on Earth with a lower beak longer than the upper one! They fly low over water and "skim" the surface for fish.

• NODDIES (like the Brown Noddy) got their name from their peculiar courtship behavior, they bob their heads up and down as if nodding yes!

• TERNS hold the record for the longest migration of any animal (the Arctic Tern flies from Greenland to Antarctica and back every year)!

• GULLS are one of the few animals that can drink fresh and saltwater thanks to special glands above their eyes.

Each day, we’re turning our eyes to the skies and shores to celebrate a different member of the Laridae family—a remarkable group that includes gulls, terns, and skimmers. From the acrobatic dives of the Arctic tern to the laughing calls of the ring-billed gull, these birds are masters of wind and wave. Whether they’re soaring effortlessly over oceans or stealing fries from fast-food parking lots, each species has a unique story, skill, and survival trick. So get ready to meet the Laridae family one bird at a time!

Introducing

Black Birders Week 2026:

Flyways & Freedom

BLACK AF IN STEM WANTS YOU TO FLY FREE WITH US FOR BLACK BIRDERS WEEK 2026: “FLYWAYS & FREEDOM: ADVOCACY, ACTION, AND THE FUTURE”

We’re building a movement where birds and our people can move freely…no borders, no boundaries!

March 15, 2026 — There’s something real about watching a hawk cut through the sky over your block, or seeing a flock of warblers touch down in a city park after flying thousands of miles. It hits different. It reminds you that movement is life. That finding a place to rest isn't a privilege—it’s instinct. Nature doesn't check for the lines we drew on a map, so why should we?


That’s the energy we’re bringing this year. Black AF in STEM is opening up the circle to partner organizations, allies, and everyone trying to do the work. We’re kicking off Black Birders Week 2026 "Flyways & Freedom: Advocacy, Action, and the Future" from May 24 to May 30, 2026. This year, we’re honoring the pathways birds have always followed, and we’re asking the hard question: what could freedom look like if we moved like they do, without all the barriers?

We’re reaching out with hope and a clear purpose. The fight to protect our birds, our green spaces, and our neighbors’ dignity isn’t a solo mission. It’s a collective effort, and we need everyone at the table. We need your voice, whether you’re speaking from a trailhead or from your block. We have to see the thread that connects a disappearing wetland to a displaced family. We have to understand how a border wall is just another version of the message communities have heard for generations: that you don’t belong.


This Theme Hits Close to Home
Birds move because they have to. Their whole existence is an act of faith—faith that there’s somewhere to rest, something to eat, a way through a land they’ve never seen. They follow the paths their ancestors laid down. Meanwhile, our communities—Black, Brown, immigrant, displaced—we’re still out here running into walls built to keep us out, keep us separated, keep us contained.

This year’s theme isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about building stronger support systems, and getting brave enough to ask the real questions, together.

  • Why can a bird cross a border that a person can’t?

  • Why are the same systems breaking up bird habitats also breaking up our neighborhoods?

  • What could environmental justice actually look like if we built it around the right of every living thing to move, to belong, to thrive?

These aren’t questions we can answer alone. This is an invitation. A call to link up, to build together, and to become the people we’ve been waiting for.

Come through! Let’s lock in and make some moves!

For Media & Partnership inquiries, please contact:

Black AF In STEM

blackafinstem@gmail.com