Features — June 2026

Essays | Themes | Research

Bird Song:
Hope and Magic

by Diane White

I am walking through Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve, one of my favorite places in Ft. Myers, when I hear a lovely bird song. On the boardwalk through towering Cypress trees – I see her. A female Northern Cardinal, singing prettily. She only weighs 1.5 ounces, but her song carried throughout the 3,500-acre preserve. As she perched there owning her “Instagram” moment, I was able to capture a short video. It is still my favorite bird video and I wonder – what was it about this small bird that captured my attention? What does bird song mean to us humans and inspires hope? How can we connect or reconnect to birds to enhance our brains, and lift our spirits?

Birds can signal “safe enough.”

You may have noticed that before a threatening storm, birds often go quiet. When we hear ordinary birdsong, it may signal that the environment is not immediately dangerous. For example, we may interpret experiencing our normal “dawn chorus” as a subtle “nothing alarming is happening here” cue. Researchers in a 2015 public-space study framed it as: birdsong may create the feeling that life is present nearby, which reduces the creepiness of empty or poorly lit places.

Researchers have discovered in some studies that listening to bird sounds can soothe the brain. In a National Geographic story on the subject, Clinton Francis, a researcher at Cal Poly, says, “Birdsong, over our history, has been a reliable cue that the world is at ease.” (National Geographic)

Why might that be true?

For early people, birds would not just have been pleasant background. They were part of the information system of the landscape. Bird alarm calls can indicate predators, snakes, raptors, human movement, or other disturbances. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors attended closely to animal sounds for survival. If birds suddenly went silent, or gave alarm calls, that could signal that something changed nearby.

I heard a ruckus in the trees the other day and it was so alarming that I went outside to investigate. I found that several small songbird species had joined together to sound a distress call – a bird-like SOS. Looking around, I saw a red-shouldered hawk circling lower and lower and then land on the neighbor’s fence. Comically, a Northern Mockingbird tried to dive bomb it and was joined by another. Working together they managed to chase off the threat.

Seeing or hearing birds may improve day-to-day mental wellbeing.

One 2022 study, led by academics from King’s College London, found that everyday encounters with birds boosted the mood of people with depression, as well as the wider population. The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, tracked 1,292 participants’ everyday encounters with birds via a smartphone app called Urban Mind. You can read about it The Guardian, which includes a handy bird song video to listen to while reading the article. The study emphasized that seeing or hearing birds—not just being in “nature” generally—was linked with better mood. (The Guardian)

Try your own experiment. Spend 5 to 10 minutes outside in the morning just listening or play high-quality recordings of local bird songs at low volume. Familiar bird songs from your local environment will feel more natural and less artificial than generic relaxation tracks. An easy-to-use app for listening to and recording bird song is Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Labs.

Learn with others.

Bird watching ticks many boxes that we know are good for us as we age. Engaging in social activity? Check. Being curious? Check. Engaging in new learning? Check.

OLLI-USF and the OLLI Outdoors shared interest group offer engaging, expert-led outdoor learning activities as well as informal gatherings for the curious. Learning from experts expands your knowledge and may even change your mind! One example was a fun, informative online debate about changing Florida’s state bird led by May Keith from Tampa Audubon. Currently the state bird is the Northern Mockingbird – not very Florida-like you may think. And you would be right! The Florida legislature has been trying, unsuccessfully so far, to change it. But which bird is deserving, and why?

You can read about this lively discussion and the voting results of OLLI Outdoors members before and after the presentation on the right.

OLLI-USF Outdoors Shared Interest Group’s Pick for the Florida State Bird

Did you know that Florida’s state bird is the Northern Mockingbird? There have been attempts by the legislature to change it, to no avail so far. What bird is worthy of representing Florida?

To find out, OLLI-USF Outdoors asked Mary Keith, Tampa Audubon, to present the history behind our state bird and provide information about the leading bird candidates like the American Flamingo, Northern Mockingbird, Osprey, Roseate Spoonbill, Scrub Jay, Swallow-tailed Kite, White Ibis, and the Wood Stork. The “Florida Construction Crane” was noticeable left off the list!

Let the debate begin! What bird did we support? We took a vote before Mary’s presentation, and the American Flamingo and Roseate Spoonbill were tied with 26% of the votes.

After the presentation and lively debate, the final poll resulted in 50% voting for the spoonbill. The flamingo garnered 23% of the vote and the scrub jay 14%

Why did we support the Roseate Spoonbill? Besides being pink, the flamboyant Roseate Spoonbill looks like it came straight out of a Dr. Seuss book with its bright pink feathers, red eye staring out from a partly bald head, and giant spoon-shaped bill.

This bird is easily recognizable along the shallows of fresh and salt water – slowly walking with their bodies held horizontally and their spoon-shaped bill underwater feeling for prey.

Spoonbills share roosting and nesting colony with egrets, herons, and ibises. At colonies males bob their heads up and down while shaking nearby twigs to get the attention of a female. Interested pairs may bite each other’s bills or may raise their outstretched wings above their body. Once paired, males present females with sticks, which they shake while holding them in their bills. Pairs generally stay together only for one breeding season.

They fly with necks outstretched, to and from foraging and nesting areas along the coastal southeastern U.S., and south to South America.

Love nature? You might enjoy our recorded nature videos, like – Nesting Colonies around the Bay with Mary Keith, Tampa Audubon. Click here for our recorded video program library.

It’s not magic, or is it?

In a New York Times interview, Paul McCartney, who is 83 and still writing songs, says, “It’s a magical world, music. Scientifically, even, it is just a bunch of frequencies. So how can these frequencies affect your heart? I get it, if it’s got a lyric, sometimes you go, oh yeah. But if it’s just a melody — how can that make you cry? That’s magic. I love it.”

Bird Song, Hope and Magic.

Last night I walked outside to look for May’s blue moon and found clouds obscuring the view. While I waited to see if the clouds would part, I heard birds calling in the night. Two Common Nighthawks quietly communicated with each other with their distinctive peent call, and a pair of Barred Owl softly sang a duet. Just then a break in the clouds revealed the second full moon of May. Like the Emily Dickinson poem, I knew what it felt like to have a feathered bird called hope perch in my soul. Maybe, just maybe, all will be well. And that felt magical to me.

Bird Song Resources

There are many resources to help you get more “bird song” in your life. You can hear and learn about birds on your own or with a group. Inside or outside. Hear are a few ideas to consider.

At the Lettuce Lake Park nature center, you can view birds at feeders inside the center, or outside. There is often a docent to answer questions. Tampa Audubon hosts beginning bird walks. No binoculars? The leader often has loaners and will set up a scope you can peer through. I learn something new every time I go.

OLLI -USF Outdoors SIG. With 55 events last season, there is always something for everyone going on. Get outdoors and learn with OLLI Outdoors! Email the leaders for more information. (ollioutdoors@gmail.com)

Join your local Audubon chapter. Most Florida counties have chapters and are thrilled to welcome newbies! Find chapters here.

Project Feeder Watch. Join and you will receive a detailed poster to help identify common neighborhood birds. You do not need to have a bird feeder to join, plus you can contribute as a citizen scientist through their various projects or just lend your support.

Learn how to identify birds with apps. One easy to listen to, identify and record bird song is by using the Merlin Bird ID app from Cornell Labs.

Videos. My favorite way to tune my ears to birds is with videos.

Here are a few:

All About Birds has a video which introduces you to 10 spring songsters that are common over much of North America.

Watch Cornell Labs recorded Bird Songs of Spring event.

Explore More …

Attend a Bird Festival. Festivals are a great way to enjoy birds and meet like-minded people. It’s a great way to see new places and explore new places – also good for a healthy brain! See this bird festival directory.

Birds and Poetry. BirdNote‘s new hour-long special, Words in Flight, invites you to celebrate contemporary poetry about birds and what they teach us about ourselves and our world. Featuring selections from BirdNote Daily and Bring Birds Back, you’ll hear poets in their own voices sharing how birds shape their art, their lives, and their understanding of nature.

Diane White, MA, PMP, earned advanced degrees in information technologies from George Washington University and education from USF. She has been managing projects for over 25 years in the information technology and telecommunications industries. She joined OLLI-USF in 2008 and has taken OLLI courses in art, art appreciation, architecture, music, great books, science, nature, literature, and leadership. She is a member of OLLI’s Tech Squad, teaches a variety of technology courses, an OLLI Roll of Honor instructor and is OLLI Connects’ technology contributor and consultant. Diane is co-leader of the USF-OLLI Outdoors SIG and is a certified Florida Master Naturalist, UF-ISFS.