Bird Language

The Return to Baseline

July 19, 2010

When you go out to your secret spot, which are the bravest birds, and how do you know? Well you know the bravest birds because they’re the ones who either a) don’t fly away from you, or b) they’re the first ones that come back after you’ve sat down next to your tree. Are all [...]

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Songs Out of Context as Alarm

July 12, 2010

Where I’m from there are lots of Carolina Wrens. I’ve always been curious as to why in the middle of winter they would suddenly burst out in song. I always suspected it was an alarm because it was so out of context, and it was loud enough and it carried with it a feeling that [...]

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Birds as Individuals

July 5, 2010

When you go on a walk you may see a Song Sparrow sitting in a bush, and then a little further up the trail, you’ll see another one in a field of tall grass on your right, and still another in the blackberries on your left. You might think all these birds are pretty much [...]

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Learning On the Go

June 28, 2010

If you’re a person who travels around a lot, and you want to learn bird language, here are some tips for learning on the go. Instead of choosing one particular place that you go to every day, choose an environment type. So in other words, if you have a secret spot at home that you [...]

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Mapping and Journaling Bird Behavior

June 21, 2010

What do you do with the observations of bird language that you make while you are in the field? Well, more important than just making notes in a field journal, is the actual development of that information after you get home. Participants in the bird language intensives create maps every single time they come back [...]

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Building Awareness of Place – Directional Awareness

June 14, 2010

So you have identified a place in nature where you can observe bird language, what we are calling a “secret spot”. What do you do when you’re at your secret spot? The first thing I recommend to people is getting to know the four directions very specifically. Awareness of the directions will help you in [...]

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Keeping a Field Journal

June 14, 2010

If you go to your secret spot for an hour to watch the birds, and then sit at your desk to write in your journal and try to remember what happened in sequence, it’s almost impossible. A lot can happen in an hour. Keeping a little notepad and pocket watch with you can be helpful. [...]

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