Urban Birdsong

We commenced research using the soundwalking methodology, which uses a walk as a tool for active focus on the sonic environment. We decided to conduct soundwalking research separately, each in different areas of London, including central Knightsbridge and South Bank as well as leafy Sydenham. I did mine in Forest Hill and Catford at around 5pm in early winter darkness. The air had a stale quality, lacking altogether the freshness of an evening breeze, and a muffling mist had settled over the hills, blurring the distant skyscrapers, and damping the soundscape. Only twice I heard birds, in two different parks I crossed, but calling from an indiscernible location and quieting as I tried to walk towards the source. Both times it seemed to be the same species, screeching in a short high-pitched tone. I heard various birds of the mechanical kind – with planes crossing over towards Heathrow in intervals of less than 30 seconds - as well as distant police sirens and dog barking, cars, trains, people talking and laughing. My favourite moment was standing in a tucked-away, pitch-black meadow in Ladywell Fields - with all this London soundscape still audible but at the same time hidden away from sight.

From our collective recordings and notes of the soundwalks we identified common themes. An observation that stood out to all of us were the many layers of sound, most of them urban noises. The birdsong was routinely hidden beneath them, only noticed when listening intentionally. From this notion came our first prototype: a sound “sandwich”, made from layers of different materials representing natural and urban sounds. To further develop this idea of representing sound in a physical form, we then listened to the recordings individually and drew on paper what came to our head. Curiously, our sketches were very similar for individual bird species. We used sharp quick lines for screechy sounds and dainty, squiggly lines for melodic singsong. Most of us used notation in lines from left to right reminiscent of traditional musical notation. Following advice from our tutorial, we tried to bring these shapes into 3D form using materials such as toothpicks, fabric, wire and paper. We presented a mapped model of the soundwalks, placing birdsong representations within the cityscape.

To find a more unique approach then, we thought about the relationship of birdsong and time of day, as we mostly associated birdsong with sunrise and sunset times. Following further literature review, we then decided to focus on birdsong in connection to urban light pollution. Birds rely on light as cue for their activity and singing patterns. Artificial light at night makes birds sing earlier both in dusk and dawn than they would naturally. It negatively affects their melatonin levels, leading to irregularities in their inner body clock and disrupted sleep. Other negative effects of artificial light include disorientation of migrating birds, worsened stress response and impaired immune function. These findings added a new purpose that we could incorporate in the design if we were able to raise awareness for the issue.

We connected with the Creative Technology Lab on campus and borrowed a light sensor with the Arduino microcontroller board to trigger an output. Combining good elements from previous ideas, we settled on the concept of an augmented bird nest that would play sounds based on light shun on it. We built the nest using twigs from a neighbouring park and reinforced it with wire. We then placed the sensor and microcontroller in the middle of the nest covered by more twigs; via a USB cable, we could now trigger any parameter in the digital audio workstation Ableton Live. At different levels of light, low pass filters would open to make more and more birds audible - climaxing in a full choir of reverbed birdsong and loud screeching. The light sensor also controlled a white noise synthesizer, making the pitch higher with more light and adding a slightly threatening tone to the installation.

We dimmed the room for presentation, setting the scene for the nest in a in a city night-time setting. Participants were given a flashlight and instructed to examine the nest. The experience of surprise and interactivity with the light-reactive sound worked very well.