The Club is delighted to organise a series of monthly (September-April) Club-wide online talks for members, in addition to local branch events. Not an SOC member? Find out more about membership and the many perks it offers, including access to the winter talks programme and the Club's quarterly journal Scottish Birds.
Dan Gardoqui - Talking with Birds
What if we could understand more of what birds are saying? At this month's Online Members’ Event, Dan Gardoqui will join us to offer some intriguing insights into their rich and sophisticated world of communication – one that can reveal not only what birds are talking about, but what they might be saying about us.
About the talk:
Are you missing out on the fascinating, dramatic and curious conversations our feathered relatives are all tuned into each day? This presentation focuses on how to best tune into, decode and connect with the language of birds - an interspecies language shared by all things wild. Getting well beyond "call vs song", bird language encompasses bird body language, positioning on the landscape combined with vocalization volume, frequency, tone, and much more. We'll do our best to check out "human biases" at the virtual door as we allow ourselves to consider that birds just might have a very elevated, sophisticated and nuanced language that rivals ours (at least). Additionally, this language often is referring to us and offers us feedback on how we're sharing space with wildlife. Join us to learn how to expand and enrich your birdwatching with some small, but vital tweaks to your time in the field.
About our speaker:
Dan Gardoqui has been studying naturalist skills, wildlife tracking, bird language and mentoring for over 35 years. He's founded and directed multiple nature connection organizations and businesses; served as a consultant on museum exhibits about bird communication and was the science and audio editor for What the Robin Knows: How Birds Reveal the Secrets of the Natural World. Dan has shared his passion and knowledge on trips and tours across North America, Southern Africa and the UK - including a collaboration with Wilderness Folks School in Scotland's Highland Perthshire in the summer of 2025. He currently serves as the Education & Outreach Director at the Center for Wildlife in Cape Neddick, Maine. Dan is a certified Bird Guide, Professional Wildlife Tracker and Registered Maine Guide who lives near the rocky shores of the Southern Maine coast alone with his wife because his fledglings have successfully dispersed.
