Come into the woods.
The incredible effects of birdsong on the land, the plants, the trees and our human experience.
Welcome to Into the woods, where I explore with your, the wild within us and outside of us, the journey of being human and rewilding the human experience.
Hello dear ones,
Welcome to my fortnightly Sunday letter,
First I wanted to let you know that I have changed the name of my substack. Instead of ‘connection’, it is now called ‘into the woods’ which seemed to me, to explain more what this substack is; a journey of inner and outer nature.
And now I want to tell you about my recent exciting discovery when researching for my book, this discovery took me down a very beautiful path which showed me yet another reciprocal bond amongst the wild and diverse community of nature.
And ever since this discovery, I feel even more delighted, (if that’s possible), when out in nature.
This is a story about the birds and the plants and trees. I found out about it when looking into Rowan trees, also known as Mountain Ash or Caorann (Gaelic) and which birds like to eat the berries of the rowan.
It turns out that it is mainly song birds that love rowan berries, especially blackbirds, mistle thrush’s , redstarts, redwings, song thrush’s , fieldfares and waxwings.
And one thing I always noticed and has been written about, is once they have gorged on the red berries, fortifying their bodies with the trees fruit, they sing their hearts out, bursting into enthusiastic and intense singing for extended periods of time.
I have often thought that this is the birds way of singing their gratitude into the air, thanking the tree and all the bounty they bring that aids their thrival.
But it goes even deeper than this and it reminds me of some of the ancient Celtic, Gaelic wisdom about birds and the potent impact their songs have on the earth and its aliveness, how a birds song can call life up and above the dark soil, helping seed to unfurl and buds to open, for the celts have always been wise to the ways of the wild.
And in recent years, scientific studies have shown that birdsong has indeed, a very beautiful relationship to plants and trees, with their song holding specific vibrations that supports and promotes the growth of plant life.
When birds sing with such gusto in spring, the sound and song calls to leaves yet to grow and flowers on trees and plants, encouraging their growth and unfurling.
As well as this, on the underside skin of a leaf, is something called a stomata, which comes from the greek word meaning ‘mouth’
The stomata, or also known as Stoma, are what the plants use to breathe, they close up at night and open in the morning to allow air to flow in and out, and it is the singing and chirping of the birds at the dawn chorus that ignites the opening of the plant mouths in the dawn.
People have often wondered why birds sing in the early dawn, and I don’t know, if the birds are aware of the impact their song has on the plants and trees or not, if they see it as their vital role in the world, if they know it as their essential task, or if singing in the dawn is just a wonderful way to start the day for them and they are oblivious to its effects.
Since these studies have come out, some growers have tried to encourage more birds to their plants and found an increase in the growth of them, and some people have played classical music, bird song, or their own instrument into their garden or feild and found extraordinary results in plant growth.
This story of interconnection fills my heart with joy, to know the birds singing in the morning, is one of the things that help the plants to thrive and grow well.
And to realise that the singing they do after eating the rowan, is not only a thank you, but a gift of growth, repair and love to the tree.
I wonder too, what are the effects of birdsong on our bodies? Im aware the sound ignites our parasympathetic nervous system that helps us to feel calmer, grounded and restful. But are there other effects we are not aware of? Does the song help our wildness grow beyond the concrete, does it call to the growth and healing within us?
If I ask my heart this question, is says a resounding yes!
Nature is full of reciprocity, and nothing stands alone, each being is stitched to another’s roots in kindness and support.
You don’t have to look far, or to look under many leaves or rocks before you find a story of reciprocity and care within the wild.
We are part of a beautiful community, and we too are always receiving the benefits and care the wild brings, for we are woven and threaded into the wild cloth of the world, even if we sometimes forget as we sit within our walls and electricity, that we are cared for.
And we too, would naturally be a reciprocal presence to the land around, and even if we may have forgotten what some of those ways are, in some strange ways, we don’t have to look far to see the reciprocity we offer to the wild world without meaning to, by just being naturally us. Such as the act of breath, we breathe out carbon dioxide which the plants and trees and oceans love and need, they breathe it on so they can thrive, and return it to us as oxygen so we can thrive. Or, if we were living more within the land, every time we pooed or urinated on the land, we would be giving back of what we ate, the composting waste of fruit, veg and body. Or, when we interact respectfully with plants, picking them, foraging them with care and awareness, they strengthen and thrive under that relationship.
And I’m sure there are ways in which we would like to be more reciprocal towards the world around us, and it can be a lovely thing, and soul tingling thing, to ponder what small way we can offer more reciprocity to the earth that gives so much. What small thing is in our ability and resources to do, is it offer love, songs, gratitude, planting seeds, trees, growing wild native herbs and weeds, composting our waste, make food for plants, tell connective stories, breathe with the plants, speak to the trees, create spaces where bug and bee can live, lift up paving stones, kiss dandelions, eat the weeds until you fall in love with them……………
With discovering this new story of love within the land, Im going to spend more time listening to the birds, infusing their song into my days and letting each new story I unearth pull me ever more into a wild pool of love for the world around me.
Thank you for your presence here,
Much wild beauty and birdsong to you
Brigit xx
x
NEWS
I’m excited and nervous and delighted to be doing a talk on zoom for Resurgence and the Ecologist Magazine this Tuesday. The subject of the talk is nature as a healer…. Do come along it would be lovely to have you there.
Dear Beautiful Brigit, thank you so much for your beautiful words full of poetry, love and amazement ! And for your so precious sharing !!! What a discovery so meaningfull and full of Wisdom, Hope and possibilities for us to participate and live in communion and respect with The Nature... no words, I'm so moved... have a nice sunday, be blessed. Béatrice
how beautiful!
do you have a link to the study of birdsongs and their impact on trees??i would love to find out more about it. how lovely of you to share all that wild wisdom, it is really enriching my life and give ideas to be more aware when around the plants. thank you!:)