CESSE Conference / Papers / WHAT ARE THE BIRDS TALKING ABOUT? / 
Árpád  Zsoldos / Environment educator, the leader of MME „Bird Achool” and „Bird kindergarten” / Hungarian Ornithological and Nature conservation Society / 14:55-15:15 / 29 Nov / MOME Z

The past and the present of bird voice recording in Hungary
The acoustic communication of birds: do birds talk with each other?
Tools and techniques of bird voice recoding.
Bird voice reording as a view forming and teaching technique.

My original profession is a wood turner. After finishing the military service I went to work for the Budapest Forestry (1972 – 1985). Beside this job I qualified as a forestry technician here (1978). From 1978 to 1985, I worked as a forest manager in the Budapest Greenbelt Afforestation Program.
In 1975 I joined the Hungarian Ornithological and Nature Conservation Society (MME) in which I am a member since then. In the same year I passed a bird ringing exam.

In 1981 with the cooperation of the MME and the Marczibányi Téri Cultural Center, we established the ’Madarász Suli’ (’Birdwatchers’ School’) naturalist study group. Up to this day I participate in the management and implementation of this. Between 1985 and 1987, I worked as employee of the MME as a manager of the Jókai Garden Nature Reserve. From 1987 to 1992 I worked as a bird protection rapporteur for the Pilis State Park Forestry.

Since 1992 I have been working as a leisure organizer at Marczibányi Téri Cultural Center. I am responsible for organizing and implementing the ’Madarász suli’ (’Birdwatchers’ School’) and the ’Madarász ovi’ (’Birdwatchers’ Kindergarten’) program, furthermore organizing and conducting nature study camps. In 1993 I developed the thematics of the “Madarász ovi” environmental education program, according to which this program is still working today.

In 1997 I began to collect field recordings of animal voices.
From 1999 to 2008 I made the following publications:
1999 – „Excursions with birdsongs” – CD-ROM. Publisher: MME.
2001 – „Birdsongs in the garden and around the house” – audio CD with accompanying text. Publisher: MME
2002 – „Birdsongs from Hungary” – audio CD album (3 CD) with English and Hungarian accompanying text. Publisher: MME
2006 – „The Sounds of the Night” – audio CD with narrator text. Publisher: MME
2008 – „Birdsongs from Romania” – audio CD album (3 CDs) with Rumanian – English – Hungarian accompanying text. Publishing house: Sociotatea Ornitologica Romana – Birdlife Romania
From May 2007, I make short bird voice reviews in the program „Oxygen” of MR 1 Kossuth Radio.

Since I’ve been retired since 2012, I’m continuing the ’Birdwatchers’ Kindergarten’program and my birdsong series at Kossuth Radio.