Learn the "Secret" Language of Nature - right in your own backyard!
Decoding Nature Master Class Video with Josh Lane:
Want to go even further? Deepen your skills with the Backyard Bird Language Course with Jon Young & Josh Lane - See below for details & registration.
There is a universal language in nature. Animals rely on it to avoid danger.
Why is it that the bobcat, fox, and other animals can remain so hidden and elusive? They are listening to the universal alarm system of the forest - the voices of the birds.
We can learn to understand this language too. In fact, we are already "hard-wired" to pay attention to it...
Our ancestors relied on the signals of birds for early warning to avoid predators, or to locate game. There are still remnants of this ancient knowledge remaining within hunter-gatherer cultures today in various places around the world.
Scientific research is beginning to catch up with this ancient knowledge. Recent studies are confirming what indigenous wisdom has already known and utilized:
Birds communicate about the locations of animals (and people), and there is an alarm system shared by many different species. You can learn this language too!
Imagine. . .
- Stepping out your door and knowing the exact location of a nearby hawk, owl, cat, weasel, or other animal, because the birds "told" you.
- Sensing through bird behavior whether an area is in its "baseline" state of harmony, or whether there is a potential danger nearby.
- Seeing from the flight pattern of a flock of birds where an unseen hawk is approaching.
Jedi Training?
With an understanding of the basic principles of bird language and behavior, these "Jedi-like" skills become possible to attain.
In fact, people living close to the land have relied on this knowledge for thousands of years to avoid danger.
People of all ages, including children, can learn this. It is only recently in the modern world that these ancient skills of interpreting the language of nature have been nearly forgotten.
Meet Jon Young
Bird language expert Jon Young, author of the book What the Robin Knows: How Birds Reveal the Secrets of the Natural World, has spent a lifetime studying the communication system of the forest.
Jon has traveled and observed the patterns of bird language around the world, and distilled this ancient knowledge into an easy-to-learn system that anyone can grasp.
A master storyteller and mentor, Jon Young has shared the skills of bird language with thousands of people of all ages.
Jon has found that not only does bird language help people connect with the earth, it also helps people develop a deeper sense of awareness and peace in their lives.
Bird language clubs, training workshops, and children's programs have grown as a whole new generation is connecting with the land again through the voices of the birds.
Learn Bird Language - From Home!
As not everyone can take the time to make it to a live training workshop with Jon, we have created an at-home training course that can be used anywhere - the Backyard Bird Language Online Course.
Backyard Bird Language with Jon Young is an engaging, self-paced online course that you can complete in a way that works for your schedule.
Each module takes you deeper into the world of understanding the language of the birds, bringing deep connection with nature and the birds in your neighborhood.
Though these methods are based on ancient wisdom, Jon presents it in a simple and grounded way to make these skills accessible to anyone interested in learning bird language. Beginners and experienced birders alike are welcome.
The practices in this course are designed to engage your senses in nature's dynamic patterns.
When you listen with an ear for the pattern language we will share with you in this course, the birds will "tell" you things that have been happening right under your nose that will astound you, even if you are an avid birder or nature observer.
Backyard Bird Language will help you gain new layers of connection to your home and to your "wild neighbors", the birds:
Learn awareness routines that help reduce stress & engage the senses
Experience the "core routines" of bird language 
Gain a deeper connection with the birds & animals in your own backyardA Larger Impact
- Those who have incorporated Bird Language into their lives through this program say that it causes them to open up their senses and awareness, enriches their lives, and brings more moments of peace from daily stresses.
- Participants often report a new sense of belonging and friendship with the birds and the natural world, one that they didn’t even realize was missing or possible to have.
About the Course Modules:
Introduction to Bird Language
An introduction to the essential basics of learning bird language.
This module eases you into the core practices that we will continue to build on throughout the course. You will gain skills that you can apply every time you get outside. These core skills will help you feel more connected to nature wherever you go, and more aware of just what the birds are communicating through their voices and behaviors.
You can begin appying these tools right away, regardless of whether you are a "newbie" to nature connection, or even if you're a lifelong birder.
Module 1 - The Shapes of Alarm
Learn the "vocabulary" that will allow you to interpret bird language.
"Shapes of Alarm" are patterns of body language, tone of voice and positioning that reveal the locations of predators, people and other causes of disturbance.
With this knowledge, a whole world of connection emerges - often surprising - as we read deeper into the stories surrounding us on the landscape. Shapes can be applied worldwide to interpret bird behavior.
Module 2 - The Five Voices of Bird Language
The "Five Voices" are universal patterns of communication found in birds around the world. With this understanding, you can travel anywhere in the world and begin to read into the deeper context of bird language, even if you don't know how to identify the species involved at first.
Module 3 - Common Causes of Alarm
Learn about avian and terrestrial predators that commonly cause bird alarms around the world.
Explore how wildlife tracking and natural history aid your understanding of bird language.
Gain routines for understanding the animals in your neighborhood.
Module 4 - Bird Language Allies
There are 650 bird species that nest in North America north of Mexico alone, and over 10,000 species worldwide. Which types of birds are helpful to focus on when first learning bird language, and why?
Get an introduction to five common North American species that are especially helpful bird language "allies"; learn the qualities that make them so useful to start with. Through these examples, you will learn how to apply this knowledge anywhere in the world to pick helpful species to start your observations with.
Birds are the sentinels of the forest. Bird language provides early warning not only to other birds, but also to many mammals.
By learning how to "blend in" with the patterns of the birds, we can diminish our field of disturbance and get a more intimate view of the natural world.
This module guides you step-by-step in practices that work effectively in both the backyard and in the wilderness.
Each Module Includes:
Training video with Jon Young, Video transcript (PDF), and MP3 audio version of each video for those who like to listen on the go.
Daily Field Exercises with Josh Lane PDF Reflection Guidebook and MP3 audios to inspire your daily practice
Online quiz for each section to test your knowledge & skills
A personal response via email for each module that you complete from a BirdLanguage.com course responder - get helpful feedback and suggestions for your personal learning journey.
Guided Daily Learning Activities:
Each module comes with a set of simple daily practices you can use right in your backyard.
"These daily field practices are designed to help you add to your bird language skillset each day, one piece at a time.
These practices will engage your senses and cue you into specific bird behaviors.The journal questions provided at the end of each day are meant to challenge your memory and provoke curiosity for the next time you get out into the field.You can practice many of these skills anywhere - even in the city!"
These simple but powerful practices stay with you for a lifetime and open a whole new world of connection through the birds, wherever you are - great for those seeking a structure for learning these skills at home!
Josh has shared bird language and nature connection skills with people around the world for over 16 years, including presentations and workshops at the 2013 National Audubon Conference.
Josh has created simple daily practices that you can use each day during this course for 30 days worth of guided learning activities.
Special Bonus Learning Materials
Bonus Video - Five Voices Guessing Game
Practice your bird language skills with this fun bonus video!
Test your knowledge of the Five Voices of bird language that you'll be learning about in Module 2 of the course.
Bonus Video - Shapes of Alarm Mysteries Video
We've created fun animations to test your skills with interpreting the causes of different alarm shapes.
You'll learn to identify the bird language signatures caused by a variety of ground and air predators.
How the Course Works. . .
Every week for six weeks, you'll receive access to a new course module. Each module includes a training video with Jon Young, and five days of field exercises with daily audio practices shared by Josh Lane.
You'll receive a field practice each day to engage your senses as you build your bird language skillset. At the end of each day, you'll use the questions provided in the Reflection Guide to look back on what you learned that day. The sixth day each week provides questions that help you reflect on the learning from that week as a whole.
After you complete each module, you can get feedback by sending in your completed journals via email to your Bird Language course responder, who will respond to you via email. Our course responders bring a background in natural history and field observation, and they look forward to sharing in your stories. Your course registration includes 6 email responses, and you'll have up to 6 months from the time of course purchase to make use of this component.
Key Things to Know:
This is a web-based online course, for computers with good internet access. All materials are digital.
- Flexible Learning: Go through the course materials at your own pace.
- All course materials are digital, and are downloadable and yours to keep. Videos can also be viewed directly on the course website.
- Course Videos are also viewable on iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch with wifi, and other mobile devices.
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Easy Access: Receive long-term access to the online course. Login easily through our online portal.
- Step-by-step, easy to follow, and designed to fit into a busy life.
(PDF Transcripts - All Materials are digital)
The course makes a great gift for the birder or outdoor enthusiast in your family!
What course members are saying:
“I get that twittery feeling in my heart too when I get to observe the birds just doing their thing. It’s like they are allowing me into a secret society and I get to just 'do my thing' too.”
“Spending regular time in my sit spot is literally changing me, my relationships, my perceptions…. I am feeling very grateful for these teachings!”
“This is great stuff. Puts me right where I want to be - in connection with the where, the who, and the what all around me.”
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Bird Language in the Wall Street Journal:
"What makes the approach of What the Robin Knows (Jon’s book all about bird language) so refreshing is that it borrows back into bird-watching something the practice often surrenders to birders, those single-minded stalkers who identify and then abandon individual birds with promiscuous fury.
"My daughter has little interest in my fits of avian acquisitiveness, but sitting quietly in the woods, taking in the whole system as a sort of babbling classroom whose sounds and silences all communicate something important, she was mesmerized—and so was I. This, more than anything else, is what bird-watching ought to mean."
—Jonathan Rosen, editorial director of Nextbook and the author, most recently, of "The Life of the Skies: Birding at the End of Nature."
What Birding Experts have to say
on learning bird language with Jon Young:
Reviews from World-Reknowned Birding Experts on bird language as shared by Jon Young in his book What the Robin Knows. . .
“Here is the ancestral wisdom passed down from Apache elder Stalking Wolf to renowned tracker Tom Brown to Jon Young himself, who in turn passes on to the reader the art of truly listening to the avian soundscape.
"With all senses more finely tuned, you’ll find yourself more aware of your surroundings, slowing down, and reconnecting with a native intelligence and love of the natural world that lies deep within each of us.“
—Donald Kroodsma, author of The Singing Life of Birds and Birdsong by the Seasons
“What the Robin Knows is a fascinating introduction to nature study beyond putting names on what we see, not just a guide to paying attention outdoors but full of tips on how to do it. It should help us discover the world of nature around us, often glimpsed but too often overlooked. This is less a book to read than one to use, one that will enrich our hours outdoors."
—Thomas R. Dunlap, author of In the Field, Among the Feathered
Can I really learn this through an online course?
Jon has spent a lifetime observing bird language in action around the world. Through this wisdom he is able to condense this unique information in one place so you can learn quickly and easily.
Save hundreds of dollars by not having to travel to a distant in-person workshop. 
Learn from the comfort of your own home, at your own pace
Learn skills you can apply around around the world, from the birds in your own yard
Course Registration:
We stand behind the quality of our courses and include a 30 day money-back guarantee if you are not satisfied in any way.
Register via our secure checkout page with a one-time payment of $350.00
After registration, you'll receive an email with the link to the member's portal. You can get started with the course right away!
