05/06/2026
Nice story about Black River Audubon member, Laura Walker.
Here is the story if you can't open the link:
A member of the Black River Audubon Society, Walker has embraced birding in a way that challenges traditional expectations.
Blind for more than two decades, she has built a growing connection to nature through sound, and now is turning that experience into a book, “A Blind Birder’s Big Year.”
“I always kind of listened to birds, but I never knew what anything was,” Walker said. “Now, it’s just opened up this whole world.”
Originally from New Jersey, Walker moved to Elyria about 40 years ago.
Her vision loss traces back to childhood, when she was diagnosed with a rare eye disease called uveitis.
“By 2000, is when my eyes gave up the ghost,” she said. “But, I am touching nature in my own way.”
That connection deepened last year following back surgery, when Walker said she found herself spending more time at home.
With the help of the Merlin Bird ID app, she began identifying birds by their calls from her own backyard.
“It was a game changer for me,” Walker said. “I’d stand there, make a recording and it would tell me what I was hearing.
“That’s what started this whole mania.”
Since then, Walker has immersed herself in birding, and set a personal goal for 2026: to participate in a “Big Year,” a birding challenge where participants identify as many species as possible between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31.
“I have 68 on the year so far,” she said. “My life list since last fall is 98.”
Her journey has taken her beyond her backyard, to parks across Lorain County, to Pennsylvania for snow goose migration and soon to Northwest Ohio for the The Biggest Week in American Birding at Magee Marsh.
“I am so stoked,” she said, laughing. “I’ve been watching YouTube videos about it.
“I’m ridiculous at this point.”
Walker joined the Black River Audubon Society earlier this year after searching for ways to connect with other birders.
She said the group has welcomed her warmly.
“They took me under their wing,” Walker said. “They’ve been unbelievably kind to me.”
Through programs, events like “Bird Jeopardy,” and guided walks, Walker has continued to build both her skills and her community.
Walker said the spirit of exploration is at the heart of her book.
A Blind Birder’s Big Year will document her experiences navigating birding without sight, while encouraging others to see, or hear, nature differently.
“Anybody can do this,” Walker said. “If you have an interest, there’s not a limit.”
She said she hopes the book will show that birding isn’t just about seeing rare species, but about being present.
“It’s so calming; it makes you present,” Walker said. “It just grounds you in a way like no other.”
For Laura Walker, birdwatching doesn’t begin with binoculars: It begins with listening. A member of the Black River Audubon Society, Walker has embraced birding in a way that challenges traditional expectations. Blind for more than t…
