I have just come back from a bird language course at IPNA, run by Aebhric O Kelly, a former student of Jon Young and Tom Brown and have had my eyes opened literally at the importance of knowing bird language for bushcraft/survival activities.
Before this weekend I would have heard the birds obviously but was not interpreting their sounds properly and therefore not getting the most out my trips out. I learned to recognise the different calls and behaviours of the birds and how to move quietly through the woods so as not to set off alarms which would hinder any possibility of seeing wildlife.
The birds can tell us who is in the woods if we learn to hear them properly. When I signed up for this course I didnt realise how important a role bird language could play in a survival situation or even in a bushcraft night out where you would like to stay under the radar. The birds can warn us of any approaching predator/human, allowing us to slip quietly out of sight until the danger/imposter has passed.
Normally your average walker in the woods will not see any wildlife because the birds have alarmed and all of the animals will have moved away out of sight. By learning bird language over the weekend I had a field mouse come and walk around at my feet while I was walking quietly through a section of woodland. This fieldmouse did not seem to mind that I was there and continued to potter around my feet for a while before going about his business.
Now, I have only spent one weekend learning bird language so I cannot even begin to call myself anything other than a beginner at this but I am really looking forward to continuing on to get to know all of the calls and behaviours of the birds. I want to progress from a fieldmouse to a fox pottering around my feet. That will take years and years of practice no doubt, and might never happen, but its a great excuse to get out in the woods a few times a week, all throughout the year.
I rate this skill right up there with fire lighting, shelter building etc. for the type of activities we take part in. I wonder if anyone else on here has done anything like this or even agree that it is an important skill to learn.
I am prepared for scepticism on this but I really believe that it is a vital skill for nature awareness/bushcraft/survival, call it what you like.
Now where can I hide......
Before this weekend I would have heard the birds obviously but was not interpreting their sounds properly and therefore not getting the most out my trips out. I learned to recognise the different calls and behaviours of the birds and how to move quietly through the woods so as not to set off alarms which would hinder any possibility of seeing wildlife.
The birds can tell us who is in the woods if we learn to hear them properly. When I signed up for this course I didnt realise how important a role bird language could play in a survival situation or even in a bushcraft night out where you would like to stay under the radar. The birds can warn us of any approaching predator/human, allowing us to slip quietly out of sight until the danger/imposter has passed.
Normally your average walker in the woods will not see any wildlife because the birds have alarmed and all of the animals will have moved away out of sight. By learning bird language over the weekend I had a field mouse come and walk around at my feet while I was walking quietly through a section of woodland. This fieldmouse did not seem to mind that I was there and continued to potter around my feet for a while before going about his business.
Now, I have only spent one weekend learning bird language so I cannot even begin to call myself anything other than a beginner at this but I am really looking forward to continuing on to get to know all of the calls and behaviours of the birds. I want to progress from a fieldmouse to a fox pottering around my feet. That will take years and years of practice no doubt, and might never happen, but its a great excuse to get out in the woods a few times a week, all throughout the year.
I rate this skill right up there with fire lighting, shelter building etc. for the type of activities we take part in. I wonder if anyone else on here has done anything like this or even agree that it is an important skill to learn.
I am prepared for scepticism on this but I really believe that it is a vital skill for nature awareness/bushcraft/survival, call it what you like.
Now where can I hide......