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
The Raven LunaChicks run 2026 WSB in Gloucester County
Remembering Doris McGovern
Meetings
November 05, 2026 @ 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.
Cultivating Local Bird Conservation Through the Bird Town Pennsylvania Program
Speaker: Heidi Shiver, President of Bird Town PA (in-person)
Discover how local communities are working to create healthier habitats for birds, wildlife and people alike. This presentation offers an in-depth look at the Bird Town Pennsylvania program, a grassroots conservation initiative that empowers municipalities to engage and educate community members of actions that can be taken to protect birds and restore natural ecosystems. We will explore the program’s remarkable growth and celebrate successes that have made it a model for community-based environmental stewardship.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
After teaching for 30 years, Heidi has been working to support environmental organizations and programs. For four years, she served on Bucks County Audubon Society’s Board and for their 50th Anniversary, served as President. She continues to be active on the Doylestown Township’s Environmental Advisory Council after 8 years and leads their Bird Town Committee. Published in 2024, she managed, helped write and edit the 2nd edition of Birds of Bucks County. For over 18 years, she continues to serve as a Bucks County Penn State Master Gardener focusing on pollinators, native plants and birds.
Since 2021, she has been the President of Bird Town Pennsylvania, working with the Board to support the current Bird Towns communities and continuing to grow the program, building partnerships and promoting community-based conservation actions to create a healthier and sustainable environment for birds, wildlife and people. She also serves on the Pennsylvania Audubon Council Board.
She especially enjoys birding in her backyard and down in Cape May, gardening, traveling, reading and spending time with her family, 2 children and 3 grandchildren.
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Field Trips
http://ebird.org/ebird/hotspot/L1027761
Free to all members and non-members
Please join us for a bird walk at this rarely visited park in West Philly! Fall migration is at its peak, and we should see plenty of birds stopping in Philly on their way to the wintering grounds.
Let’s meet at the environmental center. There is limited parking. You may try parking along 63rd St or any of the side streets.
Sturdy footwear is recommended as the ground can be muddy in places. We will walk along the main path north and south of the center.
No binoculars? No worries! Birding backpacks with binoculars and field guides are on loan at all Philly Free Library branches.
For questions, please reach out to birdphillywalks@gmail.com.
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https://ebird.org/hotspot/L3067523
Free to all members and non-members
Please join us for a bird walk at this underappreciated park in NE Philly! We should see warblers, thrushes, vireos, and sparrows while fall migration is in full swing.
We will meet at the Ramona Ave entrance (40.016572, -75.107705) and walk about 2-3 miles. This will be a mix of paved surfaces along the main trail and often washed-out hiking trails, including a short but steep uphill and downhill section. Dress for the weather.
No binoculars? No worries! Birding backpacks with binoculars and field guides are on loan at all Philly Free Library branches.
For questions, please reach out to birdphillywalks@gmail.com.
See more
Add to Google Calendar
Download ICS
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.
