Monthly Bird Language Club

Join us for fun-filled mornings of community learning as we explore local natural areas through the language of the birds!

Bird Language is an ancient interspecies communication system known to all our ancestors and still accessible to us today. To learn Bird Language is to tap into events occurring across entire landscapes, including which predators are present and where.

Bird Language Club will introduce you to bird vocalizations and behavior using cutting edge methods from the Bird Language Leaders movement designed by Jon Young, including:

• The Five Voices of the Birds
• Interpreting Shapes of Alarm
• Deep Sensory Awareness
• Storytelling and Dynamic Sensory and Memory Skills

Each meeting will include a brief introduction to Bird Language followed by a group bird sit, collaborative debrief, and a bird walk focusing on listening, observations, and questioning to lead to deeper learning. Beginning and experienced birders welcome!

Bird Language Club is FREE! There is no registration process; just show up. We will meet in any weather except for snow/ice. Bring what you need to be comfortable outside all morning, including water, snacks, notebook & pencil (write-in-rain is ideal), sit-pad, binoculars if you have them, and layers/footwear appropriate for the weather and walking/sitting off-trail in muddy/wet areas. Our session runs from 8am – 11am, but feel free to arrive by 7:50 to get oriented. Please carpool if possible; parking is limited!

Bird Language Club is geared towards adults and mature teens, though all ages and families are welcome. Minors must be accompanied by an adult.

Please direct questions about Bird Language Club to our coordinator Jesse Phillips at [email protected].

2026 Dates (one Sunday per month)

March 8th: McCormick Park, Duvall
April 12th: Osprey Park, Sultan
May 10th: Snoqualmie Wildlife Area – Stillwater Unit
June 14th: McCormick Park, Duvall
July 19th: Osprey Park, Sultan
August 23rd: Snoqualmie Wildlife Area – Stillwater Unit
September 13th: McCormick Park, Duvall
October 18th: Osprey Park, Sultan

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Locations

McCormick Park location details: 26200 NE Stephens St, Duvall, WA 98019
Meet in the meadow below the parking lot. Restrooms onsite. Terrain generally flat, with gravel path and mowed field for sit area. Most sit locations are on the lawn; prepare for wet ground.

Osprey Park location details: 1st Street, Sultan, WA 98272
Meet at the north end of the 1st St. parking area near the start of the Northern Loop Trail. Restrooms onsite. Terrain generally flat, with well-maintained trails through forested understory. Most sit locations off trail; prepare for wet ground.

Snoqualmie Wildlife Area – Stillwater Unit location details: Just off of Highway 203, Carnation, WA 98014. Meet on the gravel trail beyond the parking lot. No restrooms onsite. Terrain generally flat, with mowed grass trails that are usually wet. Most sit locations off trail; prepare for wet ground.

Meet Your Instructor:

Jesse Phillips

Jesse Phillips spent his college years studying the relationship between nature and human culture. He graduated with an honors degree in Environmental Writing and Philosophy from Whitman College, then designed a summer camp and took over a small farm business to live his passion for connecting and playing with people, plants, food, and wildlife. Jesse is a graduate of various Wilderness Awareness School programs, including The Immersion, the Tracking Intensive, and the Nature Instructor Training, which he now instructs. He has mentored youth and adults at WAS since 2014, and his work feeds his passion for crafting healthy learning cultures that honor the rhythms of nature inside and outside our wild selves. As a mentor, Jesse has always loved learning with humans of all ages–in classrooms, tutoring centers, gyms, gardens, farm and sports fields, and in forests. He enjoys honing his skills in firemaking, bird language, game design, nonviolent communication, riparian restoration, and the art of wandering. When he’s not work-playing in the woods, you can find Jesse going camping, practicing hip hop dance, playing spikeball, or tending the local food forest.

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