“I speak English, Spanish, and Bird Language.” – Preschool participant at Stretch the Imagination For the past six years, our friends at Stretch the Imagination Preschool in San Francisco have been bringing nature into the preschool experience, by bringing early learners outside to engage with nature through all of their senses. BirdLanguage.com contributor Josh Lane […]
Read More →Engaging Young Learners In Nature Through Bird Language
on February 8, 2017in teaching and mentoring
Exploring Bird Language
on December 13, 2016in Featured Guest Blog, Shapes of Alarm, Uncategorized
Exploring Bird Language – Stories from the Field by Geoffrey McMullan Someone Is Coming The San Bushmen call the Woodpecker (my favorite bird), Zana. They told me that when Zana calls it is telling them that someone will soon visit and indeed each time this happened they would call out “Sau” (the name they gave […]
Read More →The Art of Questioning: A Key to Learning Bird Language
on January 19, 2016in Learning Tips
Winter is a great time to reflect and set your goals and intentions for the year. What would you like to learn about and experience in the realm of bird language this year? This can begin by simply listing some questions that you might be curious about exploring. An Invitation to Learning The simple process […]
Read More →Tips for Spring and Early Summer Bird Watching
on June 4, 2015in Natural History of Birds
Article by Josh Lane, BirdLanguage.com staff writer Spring is an exciting time to watch bird language. In addition to meeting their basic survival needs, birds must focus on the tasks of territorial defense, courtship, and raising their young. This makes for an interesting time in the field. As the transition to early summer occurs, there […]
Read More →What’s in a Shape? Understanding a Bird’s World Through the Beak
on July 11, 2014in Natural History of Birdswith 1 Comment
Article & Photos by Josh Lane, BirdLanguage.com Staff Writer In learning bird identification and bird language, we seek to understand more about each bird’s unique lifestyle and biology. By looking at a bird’s biology, we gain insights into that species’ approach to life and the quest for survival. Adapted to Survive Birds display an amazing […]
Read More →Learning Bird Language: The Northern Flicker
on February 18, 2014in Top Ten Birdswith 4 Comments
Focal Species: Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) by Josh Lane, Kamana Naturalist Training Program Graduate & 8 Shields Holistic Tracking Mentor “Yellow-shafted Flicker Takes Flight” by Bob MacInnes, Flickr, CCBY 2.0 Attribute Only Photo License I first started intentionally learning about birds and bird language as a teenager. Often while exploring the edges of the northern […]
Read More →Common Birds – Anything but Boring!
on September 16, 2013in Principles of Bird Languagetags: bird language, josh lanewith 1 Comment
What the Robin Knows Blog Series – Introduction Common Birds – Anything but Boring! by Josh Lane When bird watching, it can be tempting to focus on the rare or uncommon species, or simply on the fun of trying to tally a big list of sightings for the day. It’s easy to overlook that […]
Read More →Wisdom On The Wing
on May 16, 2013in Uncategorized
Observation is at the heart of Jon Young’s “What the Robin Knows,” which finds its wonders closer to home. Despite its humble title and slim size, it is no less ambitious than “Bird Sense,” promising that backyard bird observation can, in the words of the subtitle, “reveal the secrets of the natural world.” It is […]
Read More →“Conference Call vs. Alarm Call”
on May 15, 2013in Featured Guest Blog, Shapes of Alarm
by Dan Gardoqui During an early May morning in Maine, I was on a monthly conference call with some colleagues, occasionally multi-tasking on a few other projects, when I noticed that two robins outside my window (which was closed at the time) stopped moving. I’m not talking a brief pause- instead, they were frozen […]
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