In Takoma Park, Maryland, in suburban Washington, people, adults or students, lined up at a pay phone outside a restaurant several times a week.
"Once I put the phone out there, it just took off, " said David Schulman, a Takoma Park violinist who created the Bird Calls Phone. Listeners push 1 to hear a yellow-crowned night heron （夜鹭）， 7 to hear a pileated （红冠） woodpecker's call and 9 for the distinct scream of a red-tailed hawk. Instructions about how to use the phone are in three languages: English, Spanish and Amharic-a reflection of Takoma Park's Ethiopian community. In all, 10 birds native to the Takoma Park area are featured.
In addition to being fun, listening to Bird songs can reduce stress and anxiety, studies show. Even hearing recordings of birds can relieve negative emotions.
After noticing an abandoned, nonworking pay phone in town, Schulman wondered if he could turn it into something appealing. He said, "I really like the old technology of just picking up a receiver, pressing one button and having something happen. "Schulman thought bringing birds sounds to the abandoned phone was a way to add a bit of nature to the neighborhood.
Takoma Park city officials agreed, and they budgeted $5, 000 to complete the project. Schulman reached out to The McCaulay Library in Ithaca, New York, which agreed to send him a few dozen recordings of native birds. He then managed to gain the help of software engineer and artist Branden Hall to rewire the phone to play different bird calls. Schulman said he persuaded several of his friends to record short descriptions of each bird to go with the calls.
"One thing I like about the Bird Calls Phone is that it's the opposite of a loud broadcast, " Schulman said. "Only one person can listen at a time, and each person will take away their own unique experience. "
