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. Class 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 Heather Durham at heatherd@wildernessawareness.org.

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2025 Dates

• May 25, 2025: McCormick Park, Duvall
• June 22, 2025: Osprey Park, Sultan
• July 6, 2025: McCormick Park, Duvall
• August 31, 2025: Osprey Park, Sultan
• September 14, 2025: McCormick Park, Duvall
• October 12, 2025: Osprey Park, Sultan

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Locations

McCormick Park location details: 26200 NE Stephens St Duvall, WA
Meet in the meadow below the parking lot. Restrooms onsite. Terrain generally flat, with gravel path and mowed field for sit area. 

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. 

Meet Your Instructor:

Heather Durham

Heather’s deep relationship with nature began through summers as a camper then counselor at a New Hampshire YMCA camp, which helped land her first real job as an environmental educator at a residential outdoor school. More than twenty years later shes gained a bachelor of arts in Psychology, a master of science in Environmental Biology, a master of fine arts in creative writing, and a multi-page resume comprising positions at outdoor schools, parks systems and environmental nonprofits around the country. Heather attended The Immersion at Wilderness Awareness School in 2007-2008, and after a few more years wandering between the wilds of the North Cascades and the urban wilds of Portland Oregon, Heather returned to Duvall to apply her multi-faceted experience behind the scenes at WAS, where she wears multiple hats including Bookkeeper, Bookseller, Bird Language Club Coordinator, and all-around Office Elf.

Heather’s passions include reading and writing creative nonfiction, watching and listening to birds, swimming in rivers and lakes, getting nature tattoos, and making order out of chaos. She is the author of two nature memoirs: Going Feral: Field Notes on Wonder and Wanderlust, and Wolf Tree: an Ecopsychological Memoir in Essays.

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