On August 26th Houston Audubon released a statement, changing their name to Birds Houston. Their board of directors approved this name change unanimously. They have a new logo that keeps the Yellow-throated Warbler at the centerpiece, as it’s a central part of the organization’s history. They remain an official local, yet independent, chapter of the National Audubon Society.
The organization rebranded from Houston Audubon to Birds Houston to reach people unfamiliar with the Audubon name, hoping to invite a broader community participation in bird conservation. The change also acknowledges the controversial legacy of John James Audubon, though this was not considered their primary goal.
In 2023 the national organization announced that independent local chapters were free to change their names. No other chapter in the state has come forward with a name change as of yet. There are several other large formally named Audubon organizations across the country that have changed their name since this announcement.
- Seattle Audubon to Birds Connect Seattle
- NYC Audubon to NYC Bird Alliance
- Chicago Audubon to Chicago Bird Alliance
- Golden Gate Audubon to Golden Gate Bird Alliance
- San Diego Audubon to San Diego Bird Alliance
- Detroit Audubon to Detroit Bird Alliance
- TucsonAudubon to Tucson Bird Alliance
- Audubon Society of Northern Virginia to Northern Virginia Bird Alliance
- DC Audubon to DC Bird Alliance
- Madison Audubon to Southern Wiscosin Bird Alliance
- Portland Audubon to Bird Alliance of Oregon
Most of these as you see have changed their names to Bird Alliance, with Portland changing its official reach to the whole state of Oregon and Madison expanding to the south region of Wisconsin. One other statewide entity that changed its name and also chose the naming convention that Houston did was Georgia. Now named Birds Georgia.
Who’s next?