Ever wondered how the birds around us make such beautiful music?

Ever imagined singing like a bird yourself?

Through the magic of music technology, Planet Birdsong will take you on a journey of discovery and delight, in the bird-song rich surroundings of Broughton Sanctuary. No singing experience needed!

10am to 4pm

You will explore how birdsong is made up of patterns, and how to find simple ways to memorise different bird songs and calls. You will get to know each song on a sonograph (showing the pitches, lengths and intensity of different notes), and hear the birds themselves out in the woods and the fields.

Then, using recordings of the songs, you will get the chance to try it out yourself….

This is how it works: most birdsong is far too quick and high-pitched for a human to sing, so recordings are slowed down to a quarter or an eighth of their original speed, and a sonograph is created. Then you copy the sounds you hear and see. After a few practices, this is filmed and sped up again, and you really can sing like a bird!

Weather permitting filming will take place out of doors, in and around the habitat of specific species. If it is rainy or windy some of it may have to be indoors. Thanks to the generosity of local bird recordist Jo Kennedy we will have access to pre-recorded bird sounds from the Sanctuary, which will be particularly useful if the weather is poor.

The aim is to encourage a deeper connection with birds in the environment and add a new dimension to your forays out into nature.

About Planet Birdsong

Peter Cowdrey is a UK based composer, pianist and ornithologist with a particular interest in birdsong and recording. He is the founder of Planet Birdsong, and its musical arm The Conference of Birds. As a small boy he loved listening to the dawn chorus but was deeply frustrated at birdsong’s inaccessibility – too fast, too high, and resolutely resistant to being shoehorned into what was generally defined as music. Peter is excited that advances in technology have made it possible to crack the hidden codes of birdsong and seeks to share them with the rest of the world.

Peter Murray Threipland is a Scottish Highlands based filmmaker with a growing passion for birdsong. He works on Birdsong Studios in schools and environmental projects across the UK with Peter Cowdrey, working on the essential elements of sound design, recording and editing that bring the studios to life.

Website: https://www.planetbirdsong.org

Image credit: Lucy J Toms Photography