Discover Nature’s Symphony: A Unique Birdwatching Experience for the Visually Impaired

This report is part of our series “The Naturalist’s Walk”: a journey to discover a particular species or exceptional habitat, guided by an enthusiast.

Paris, report

As students hustle out of the University City with their suitcases in tow, a small group quietly raises their heads, examining a brick façade. Above a wall-mounted lantern, Vincent Le Calvez points out a small hole about the size of a fist to the visually impaired attendees. “ Inside, there are three little starlings. Can you hear them ?” Once accustomed to the surrounding noise of chatter and rolling suitcases, a faint chirping becomes audible. “ They’re hungry ”, explains the guide.

After an initial birdwatching trip to the Père-Lachaise cemetery in March, the Île-de-France branch of the League for the Protection of Birds (LPO) organized a second guided nature walk for visually impaired individuals in late June at the large park of the University City. Over two hours, around fifteen participants explored the 34 hectares of this lesser-known southern part of the capital, home to 235 different tree species and 52 bird species, accounting for 25 % of those known in Paris.

As the group wanders, Vincent Le Calvez asks everyone to halt. A magpie flies overhead. “ The adult starling keeping watch just sounded an alarm because the magpie is after its chicks !” A staff member of the National Institute for Inclusive Education, Vincent is also a LPO volunteer and passionate ornithologist.

With focused listening, the group gradually becomes aware of the abundant bird life, nearly imperceptible to the eye. From the foliage of a tree, the sound of flapping wings from two wood pigeons suggests a fight and a mating display for a female. “ This one’s in stereo sound ”, jokes the guide.

After passing under the canopy of a row of fruit trees, the group stops again. “ Can you hear it ?” It’s hard to discern any chirping amidst the noise from nearby tennis courts. “ A finch !” exclaims Karine. “ What an ear !” marvels the group.

“ When I could see, I used to look at the sky and listen to the birds, she explains, walking under a linden tree that scents the air for meters around. I grew up in the countryside, that’s where I learned. So when I heard about these walks, I jumped at the chance. ”

Throughout the walk, Vincent Le Calvez plays bird songs using the Merlin app, which can be downloaded for free on smartphones. A participant records them on her audio notepad, quietly noting the species for later identification. She is accompanied by her husband, who is also visually impaired.

Following the long, high-pitched “ siiiiiiih ” of the treecreeper mixed with the powerful, melodious song of the finch, the group pauses. Guide Aurélie Carpentier pulls out tactile drawings from her bag, depicting some common bird species of Île-de-France. On the drawing, each part of the bird is marked differently. A legend then details which part corresponds to the plumage, legs, beak, etc.

Joël, a man in his fifties who lost his sight at 32, reads the legends in braille. “ I still have a stock of images in my head, but these drawings help me recall the shape, to match a sound with a form ”, he explains. For the occasion, Aurélie Carpentier also brought 3D printed birds, which are passed around, allowing participants to appreciate their size and the texture of their feathers and legs.

Fueled by the enthusiasm and success of these nature walks for the visually impaired, the LPO plans to release a braille guide of the twenty most common species in Île-de-France. The organization also continues to .

For Vincent Le Calvez, beyond being an ethical necessity, the inclusivity of natural sciences offers a new way to experience nature: “ The sign language is so rich in describing nature. Mimicking with hands the flight before diving onto prey, it’s something else compared to textual description. It’s so much more theatrical !”