2026 Intro to Bird Language

What are those birds doing? Why are they making that sound? What can we learn if we pay attention to them? Chocorua Lake Conservancy presents Intro to Bird Language, a Zoom program with naturalists and outdoor educators Hillary Behr and Kyle Ball of New England Wildlife Tracking. During this program, Hillary and Kyle introduce concepts from the book What the Robin Knows: How Birds Reveal the Secrets of the Natural World by Jon Young, and share their own experiences with and stories about attuning to Bird Language patterns. What is Bird Language? In order to survive, birds have to be keenly aware of and responsive to what’s happening around them. With practice, humans can tune in to what the birds are saying and doing and learn to interpret this language. The birds can tell us when there is a predator around and even what species it is, before we see it. From watching birds through the lens of bird language, we can tell where their territories are, who their mates are, and when their nests are in danger. When we pay attention to bird language, it opens up a whole new way of seeing nature. This presentation on Bird Language is for anyone who would like to learn about this method of observation. Knowledge of bird song and bird identification is useful but not required for practicing paying attention to Bird Language—humans can learn to interpret the different “voices” of birds without necessarily knowing the species.