Andrew the Bird Guy
Learn bird language with Andrew Turbill
Birds are our gateway into deeper nature connection. Bird language teaches us how we can genuinely listen to the land and notice things that were always right there in front of us, but yet have remained unseen and unheard…
Courses
Bird Language Retreats
Click the link to check out my 2026 bird language retreats. Locations include the venues across the NSW Central Coast, South Coast and North Coast, as well as Melbourne
Introduction to bird language
Bookings open for my Autumn and Spring 2026 online (6-week) introduction courses. Click the link for dates and details.
Start learning
What is bird language?
What is bird language, why learn it and how can it act as a powerful but highly accessible learning device for boosting nature connection?
What is a sit spot?
How to start daily practice, what to expect and why having a sit spot can be so damned good for you
The many voices of birds
Songbirds are smart animals with complex communication needs. Here are 9 broad types of calls defined by meaning, purpose and context
“The hardest thing of all to see
is what is really there”
J A Baker – The Peregrine
About Andrew
Andrew has grown up around nature and birds for his whole life. In fact, it would be an anathema to live without them. He is widely believed to favour the company of wildlife or a forested moist gully over most people. Yet he adamantly rejects the notion of being called a misanthrope. He prefers the term – ‘reclusive nerdy type’.
Regardless of this, and perhaps because of it, Andrew feels compelled to share his accumulated knowledge and insights about how we can connect deeply and profoundly with natural landscapes through paying close attention to birds.
Indeed, he believes that without a radical reconfiguration of society’s relationship to nature it should no longer be considered hyperbole to suggest the near-term fate of humanity is utterly rooted.
Testimonials
“Andrew’s quirky sense of humour and impressive knowledge combine to make this course incredibly engaging. 5 stars, would recommend!”
Scott
“So much solid knowledge wrapped up in empathy, storytelling and humility. The most lighthearted yet fascinating online course I’ve ever done ;)”
Melissa
“Bird language has a lot to teach us and Andrew is the perfect interpreter. He is a gifted educator – interesting, fun and inspiring.”
Louise
Recent articles
Welcome Swallow call
To be quite honest, I’m not entirely convinced this call is directly associated with courtship, but under the circumstances it’s hard to think what else it might be…
Riflebird Shenanigans
It happened last Monday morning. I was sitting at the dining table finishing breakfast and having an unproductive argument with one of my children, when suddenly my eyes…
Wildlings of the city
I’m in Newtown, Sydney for the weekend. It’s a strange and not altogether pleasant place for a naturalist to be, but despite the veritably swarming humanity, there are…
“Once in his life a man ought to concentrate his mind upon the remembered earth.
― Barry López, Arctic Dreams
He ought to give himself up to a particular landscape in his experience;
to look at it from as many angles as he can, to wonder upon it, to dwell upon it.
He ought to imagine that he touches it with his hands at every season
and listens to the sounds that are made upon it.
He ought to imagine the creatures there and all the faintest motions of the wind.
He ought to recollect the glare of the moon and the colors of the dawn and dusk.”