Why You Should Listen to the Songs of Birds
Their sounds provide more benefits than often realized.
Simply opening my patio door in the morning can be quite a joyous occasion. I’m greeted with the chime of innumerable songbirds filling the air with their cheery, light, and carefree songs. I’m fortunate enough to live in a place where birdsongs make up a great portion of my ambient soundscape.
Yet even with having all these tranquil sounds around me, I often don’t pay close attention to them. The sounds usually sit in the background as I go about my busy life. During the past few chaotic months, I took even less time to observe their calls.
As you read this from wherever you are, stop and sit in silence for just a moment.
Do you notice any sounds? Are there sounds of birds or nature? Perhaps instead there are sounds of people, traffic, or the subway roaring by. Whatever you are hearing, take a moment to just recognize those sounds. Think about how those sounds make you feel.
Recently I have come to stop and simply sit and listen to the sounds around me. Being at home and acknowledging the sounds of birds brought me to the recognition that I find an inner-peace and solace from their soundscapes. They are a part of life that not only affects my mood but makes me feel at home.
Whether you live either an urban or bucolic lifestyle, birds are likely around you. Stopping to pay attention to them provides great health benefits, increases your observational skills, and further connects you to the natural world. Instead of just letting those benefits pass you by, now more than ever is the time to embrace them.
The positive health benefits
Birds sing for many reasons. Their type of song depends on the season, time of day, or bird species. They sing to attract mates, defend territories, and communicate with each other. They sing not for us — but themselves. Regardless, there are many scientific and anecdotal accounts of how birdsong can positively impact human health.
Their sounds have been used to reduce stress, anxiety, and boost productivity. A 2013 BBC article highlights some of the many uses the audio recordings of birds have been used for.
Listening to their sounds have been found to boost productivity and puts people in a more relaxed state.
Following this idea, Julian Treasure of Sound Business developed an app called Study, which can be played while working to drown out distracting background noises and bring about more peaceful productivity.
“People find birdsong relaxing and reassuring because over thousands of years they have learnt when the birds sing they are safe, it’s when birds stop singing that people need to worry. Birdsong is also nature’s alarm clock, with the dawn chorus signalling the start of the day, so it stimulates us cognitively.”
-Julian Treasure (BBC, 2013)
Bird sounds have also been used as apart of sound therapy. In this type of therapy, sound frequencies connect with the natural energy of our bodies, helping bring about a mental reset that promotes physical and psychological welfare.
A study done by Eleanor Ratcliffe at the University of Surrey in Guildford England determined the reasonings behind why birdsongs can reduce stress and invoke relaxation. In the study, 20 adult participants participated in interviews where they most highly associated bird sounds with stress recovery and attention restoration.
Many participants had positive associations with certain bird sounds bringing back heartfelt memories. For example, one participant stated:
“I think it’s the wood pigeon. That kind of reminds me of summer and sort of long, hot summers and so when I hear that sometimes it takes you back and you feel, like, you know-, so your childhood-, nice, yeah…”
Not just associations, but many also pointed out that certain birdsongs were relaxing in itself. For each person, different species would bring about comfort and help reduce stress.
Participants of the study also found the bird sounds diverted everyday distraction and problems at hand. It provided respite away from the everyday stimuli for greater ease and focus.
Although there is much research still needing to be done in the psychological domain, It’s clear from these studies that many perceive birdsongs to help increase mental health and general productivity.
Heightened observational skills
Listening to the sounds of birds allows us to also increase our observation skills by paying attention to our auditory senses.
As humans, we are keen to focus on stimuli using primarily our sense of sight. However, birds being tiny, fast, and sometimes hard to see, paying attention to birdsongs helps train us in establishing a better sense of the acoustical world.
In an article from Bird Watchers Digest, Kyle Craslen talks about the power of sound when it comes to identifying birds. He did a quick experiment where he first took a walk through the woods with earbuds in. Listening to music, he drowned out the natural noise around him and was able to identify about a dozen birds through sight alone.
For his next walk through the woods, Craslen kept his eyes glued to his feet for most of the time. He focused on identifying birds solely by sound. Doing this, he ended up identifying 30 bird species.
“When I was relying solely on my eyes, I passed over tiny kinglets and creepers and reclusive wrens and towhees. With my ears “turned on,” I could hear all those birds chipping, buzzing, trilling, and singing. Most birds, especially in a woodland setting, are heard before they’re seen. If you’re not engaging your auditory sense, you may be missing more than half the birds around you!”
Sound is a crucial element in identifying birds and connecting with nature as a whole. When we pay attention to the bird sounds and try to identify the ones around us we are not only reaping the health benefits but also sharpening our observational skills. These types of attention skills are highly transferable even outside the realms of the seasoned birder or naturalist.
A greater connection to nature
When we start observing nature and paying attention to the birds around us, we also grow fonder with our connection to the natural world.
The study by Ratcliffe mentioned above had many participants perceive the positive benefits of birdsongs by fostering a greater connection to nature. This was true especially for those that already had an alacrity towards getting out and understanding the natural world. One participant of the study noted that:
“And I think it’s a connection, I think you feel connected with nature and, you know, something that’s a bit more-, well, what I consider to be more real than some of the stressful things that happen in life…”
This further connection to nature not only helps people care for the environment but brings about the aforementioned health benefits.
On almost any nature walk, birds are something that can be seen but primarily heard. For those who aren’t used to experiencing nature, they may be disappointed if they go on a nature walk and don’t see everybody’s favorite large mammals like bears, deer, or any large cats. Sightings of these animals are not everyday occurrences, and this can be where a passion for birds can come to play.
Almost every hike or place I travel, I come across new species of birds. Getting people excited about something small and hard to see can be a daunting task. However, with the proper enthusiasm and passion, anybody can get excited about birds. When that passion is there, a walk through the woods will become instantaneously more fascinating. This rings true even if people can’t see the birds, but can instead hear an assortment of eclectic melodies around them.
With the abundance of birds in ecosystems throughout the world, they are perhaps one of the most critical links in getting people connected to nature and caring for the environment.
Appreciate the bird sounds that fill your surroundings. Whether it be the birds in the woods, by the ocean, or in your backyard; their songs can have significance.
If you’re already a bird watcher, perhaps you should change your title to a bird listener. The two sensory perceptions of birding complement each other nicely and can open a world of peace, calming, and connection to nature. Don’t just take my word for it though — listen instead to what the birds have to say.
