Birding Gear Exchange
Overview of the Program
Our Birding Gear Exchange gives birding gear to new birders in need - permanently - keep the gear, bird more, and share your love of birding! A primary goal of Chicago Bird Alliance is to promote equity in birding and this program supports this goal - we want more people birding and we don’t want lack of birding equipment to be a barrier.
How it Works
Attend two eligible events and then fill out the application through the link below to apply for any available equipment. Understand that we have a limited supply to give away every year, especially for more expensive items such as spotting scopes and cameras. We ask applicants to demonstrate a commitment to spreading awareness of birds locally, and present a clear financial need. We will give preference to people belonging to communities that have been traditionally marginalized and to science educators.
Field Guides and Binoculars
Field guides and binoculars are the best way to improve your birding identification skills. To be eligible to receive field guides, birders (any age) must attend at least one eligible event. To be eligible for binoculars, birders (any age) must attend at least two eligible events. Eligible programs include any of CBA’s bird outings. Birders must be sure to sign in with a trip leader at each event.
Available Binoculars
Binoculars - Celestron Nature DX 8x42
Available Field Guides
The Sibley Guide to Birds, 2nd Edition
The Crossley ID Guide
Peterson Guide to Gulls of the Americas
Hawks at a Distance: Identification of Migrant Raptors
The Shorebird Guide
The Warbler Guide
Advanced Optics: spotting scopes, tripods, cameras and lenses
Advanced optics such as spotting scopes and cameras with telephoto lenses can dramatically improve your ability to bird, allowing you to learn from photographs and identify birds from a distance. Advanced optics can be quite expensive, and we have a limited supply to give away every year. Therefore, this equipment requires a short application in order to be considered. We ask applicants to demonstrate a commitment to spreading awareness of birds locally, and present a clear financial need. We will give preference to people belonging to communities that have been traditionally marginalized, and to science teachers. Please understand that due to to a limited supply, we will not be able to award advanced optics to every applicant.
Available Advanced Optics (limited supply)
Vortex Razor 16-45x65mm (spotting scope) with Manfrotto 290 Xtra Tripod with Fluid Video Head (tripod)
Nikon Coolpix 950 (camera)
Fill out a request using the Apply button below and we’ll respond with 2 weeks.
Donations
Would you like to help grow the birding community? If you’d like to help support this program, we are seeking donations of equipment such as scopes, tripods, camera bodies and lenses in gently used to new condition. Please email us. While we appreciate offers for binocular donations we are unable to accept them at this time.
We are also seeking cash donations to purchase binoculars, field guides and other equipment for distribution. Chicago Bird Alliance is a 501(c )(3) organization. All donations are fully tax deductible.