The sweet voice of the Rose Robin marks the end of deep winter in northern NSW. Photo by Andrewthebirdguy
From our friend Andrew Turbill:
After sold-out inaugural retreat in the sprawling forests of Gilwell Park during autumn of 2024, I am stoked to be able to return (a little earlier in the season) in 2025! The beautiful Dandenong Ranges offers us everything we could ever need for 4 days of unadulterated, genuine nature connection, with the local forest birds proving themselves to be ideal teachers for delving deeply into bird language.
The approach of the true naturalist is always through a lens of incurable curiosity, scientific enquiry, humility and awe. Your experiences during this bird language retreat will both firmly establish these principles but also advance your nature observation and interpretation capacities for a lifetime of learning.
Through a hybrid model of outdoor presentations, story and direct personal experience of sitting in nature, the retreat promises to lift your nature observation and connection skills to a whole new level.
As with all Bird Language retreats, our lunch and dinner meals will be fully catered, with ethically sourced meals prepared onsite by local catering legend, Nectar. You only need bring breakfasts and snacks!
The group size for all bird language retreats is strictly limited to foster a close-knit experience and ensure everyone has the opportunity for profound personal learning. Make sure to book early because we sold out quickly in 2024. Hope you can make it!
Hear more about what bird language can teach us in this recent interview I did with David Marr on ABC’s Radio National Late Night Live program
Sharing stories from the day’s observations is core to all bird language retreats. Photo by Dan Lyons
“The hardest thing of all to see is what is really there” - JA Baker (The Peregrine)
What will this workshop do for me? (Good question!)
For the vast majority of the human journey as a species we have been highly attuned to the natural world around us. Every one of our bodily senses operated at their upper limit as we paid the closest attention to the weather, animal behaviour, insect hatchings, flowering and fruiting events, seasonal indicators, each other and of course, birds. Birds taught us how to avoid predators, and for some people they still do. This wasn’t a hobby. This wasn’t about keeping a personal best list of species. This was, quite literally about staying alive.
Fast forward to the present and most of us have forgotten how to pay attention to nature. We no longer hear the voices of birds, nor do we appreciate or care for their meaning. But we should, for although most of us no longer fear being torn apart by massive carnivores, our brains and sensory systems still yearn for the connections of the old ways. And over the last two decades an array of scientific evidence across multiple disciplines has demonstrated how important nature connectedness is for maintaining optimum human health and wellbeing.
Learning bird language can, quite literally, extend your life, reduce stress, improve brain functioning, aid in wound healing, extend attention span, relieve tension, mitigate eco-grief, elevate your sense of vitality and purpose, as well as bring you deep, genuine joy through deepening your connection to the land we live on. Oh, and you’ll make new (feathered and non-feathered) friends along the way!
Bird language retreats combine outdoor teaching with personal connection time in the forest. Photo by @pacificophoto
This retreat introduces you to a practical understanding and experience of bird language. Through engaging teaching sessions and time spent paying attention to the forest, you will develop and expand your nature-observation and sensory awareness skills. The experiences and learning offered at this retreat will reprogram your brain to an older way of being in the world. Through active listening to the many voices of birds we track the movement of predators across the landscape and notice the subtle changes in seasonal transitions.
This is a unique opportunity to dramatically expand the scope and detail of what you are capable of noticing, to truly see what is really there.
Presented by bird language specialist, wildlife naturalist and writer Andrew Turbill, this is a retreat for anyone interested in going deeper in their personal relationship to birds and wild nature. After decades of doing his “dirt time” of patient watching, listening and learning, Andrew has gleaned powerful insights into how birds offer us a special opportunity for really paying attention to the world around us. His teaching approach is centred around a love for the Earth and developing a ‘curious mind’ for opening pathways of new learning. These are critical skills on our journey to moving from “nature tourist” to “nature sentinel”.
Bird language retreats improve observation skills so you’ll notice more in nature. Photo by Andrew
Likewise, it is a wonderful way to connect and have fun with others who value this kind of activity and learning. We will spend the time together in a village atmosphere sharing adventures, meals, stories, and curiosity at the secluded Gilwell Park (scout camp) surrounded by trees, natural waterways, campfire, starry skies and abundant wildlife.
The skills and insights acquired in this workshop will fundamentally change the way you interact with birds and the natural world and can be readily applied in an urban-based natural setting as effectively as in wilderness. Every birdsong will become an invitation to listen, look around and learn. Every squawk will remind you we’re not alone in this world. Your friends will be amazed as you suddenly break off mid-sentence at work, dash outside and seemingly by magic “discover” a python resting in a nearby tree…or watch a falcon jet across the skyline.
Come join us to learn the magic of bird language!
This will be Andrew’s ONLY Melbourne retreat for 2025, so register now to secure a spot on the team. info@andrewthebirdguy.com
Program details:
‘The Naturalist’s Journey’ – Bird Language Retreat, Victoria, 2025
27th February – 2nd March 2025
Cost: Early bird ticket – $760 / Standard ticket $840
Early bird tickets available until 1st January 2025
Includes:
Daily facilitation, teaching and mentorship by Andrew Turbill (aka: andrewthebirdguy)
Personalised small-group guidance from a hand-picked crew of awesome ‘flock guides’
3 nights camping out under the stars at Gilwell Park (east of the Dandenong Ranges) where we have booked out half of the entire property
All lunch and dinner meals catered for (you just need to provide your own breaky and snacks)
Limited to 40 participants to create a more intimate course and learning environment.
Accommodation
Participants bring their own camp set up, but I will supply a communal, under-cover gathering area. Gilwell has toilets, access to drinking water and a vast bounty of wild nature.
Requirements
You should be comfortable being in nature, including sitting on your own in the forest for up to an hour at a time.
No previous birding experience required (this is not a ‘twitcher’ event)
There is no minimum age however all attendees must be able to sit quietly and pay attention for extended periods in both the teaching space and the forest. The retreat is therefore not suitable for infants or young children under 8 years.
Further info – Contact Andrew at info@andrewthebirdguy.com
Book your early-bird discount ticket
Facilitator:
Andrew Turbill
Andrew is an environmental educator and wildlife naturalist with a professional background in conservation science. He has managed a team of environmental and Aboriginal education rangers for the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service for nearly 20 years on the north coast. Andrew specialises in landscape-scale ecological perspectives and communicating the science and impacts of climate change on Gondwana World Heritage rainforest ecosystems. Andrew’s private work covers a diverse range of bird-related projects, including unique bird language and nature connection workshops, online group-learning series and personalised mentoring. Read more