by Hatib Joof sees elementary school students lined up at a pay phone outside his restaurant in Takoma Park, Md., a Washington suburb, several times a week.
“The phone attracts a lot of attention,” said Joof. “And it’s interesting to watch people’s expressions when they use it.”
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It’s not just the kids who are drawn to the phone, which has a canary yellow receiver. Adults stop by all day for a little boost too. The phone plays a bird song for free.
It was installed years ago, but it’s more popular than ever, said Joof, whose restaurant, Mansa Kunda, specializes in West African cuisine.
“When I put the phone out there, it just went off,” said David Schulman, a violinist, composer and sound producer from Takoma Park who created the Bird Calls Phone by wiring up an old cellphone in 2016 after the city held a contest announce. to design an interactive public art project.
Listeners press 1 to hear the yellow-crowned nightjar, 7 to hear the call of the harried woodpecker and 9 to hear the distinctive screech of a red-tailed hawk. There are instructions on how to use the phone in three languages: English, Spanish and Amharic – a reflection of the Ethiopian community in Takoma Park.
“I wanted as many local people as possible to enjoy the experience,” Schulman said.
In all, 10 birds native to the Takoma Park area are featured, including a rooster in honor of Roscoe, a beloved community mascot who once roamed the town in the 1990s in defiance of animal control officers who try to catch him.
As well as being fun, listening to birdsong can reduce stress and anxiety, studies show. Even hearing bird recordings can relieve negative emotions.
Schulman said he got the idea for the phone after noticing a neglected and non-working pay phone at home. I wonder if he could turn it into something attractive.
“As a sound person, I’ve always had a passion for pay phones,” he said. “I love the old technology of just picking up a receiver, pushing one button and doing something.”
Because he was always watching and listening to local birds, Schulman thought that bringing their sounds to the abandoned phone was a way to add a little nature to the neighborhood.
Takoma Park city officials agreed, and budgeted Schulman $5,000 to complete the project.
Now the phone’s popularity rivals the 17-foot-long crocheted octopus that once topped the city’s clock tower, said Brendan Smith, Takoma Park arts and humanities coordinator.
“The Bird Calls Phone is unique public art that meets people where they are instead of in a museum or art gallery,” said Smith.
The city installed banners with a feather motif at the phone booth in 2019.
After winning the contest, Schulman took the beat phone up from the booth at Flower and Erie avenues, then paid about $200 for a pay phone for mints on eBay to promote his avian project.
He contacted the McCaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, NY, which agreed to send him a few dozen records of native birds. Schulman then enlisted the help of software engineer and artist Branden Hall to rewire the phone to play individual bird calls. Hall also wired the phone to give people directions when they dialed “0” for “migration assistance.”
Schulman said he convinced a few of his friends — including the aptly named Marika Partridge of Takoma Radio — to record short descriptions of each bird to accompany the calls.
Another local artist, Howard Connelly, created a metal bird sculpture to be placed on top of the phone stand, and the phone was then ready for users to call the sounds of wood ducks, kingfishers and mourning doves.
“We also use the sound of a mourning dove as a dial tone,” Schulman said. “What else?”
“Probably my personal favorite is the night crescent,” he said. “It’s a wonderful bird that sounds kind of raucous.”
Joof said that almost everyone who comes across the phone near his restaurant is interested, especially young people.
Most of the kids have never used a pay phone before, and they’re excited to try it, he said. Some call it “cheap entertainment”, he said.
“Some people seem frustrated that they can’t plug in a quarter and make a regular phone call,” Joof said.
Schulman once had to replace a damaged receiver, and decided to install one that is bright yellow.
Schulman said he’s glad people are still stopping by more than seven years later to make free bird calls.
“One thing I like about Bird Calls Phone is that it’s the opposite of a loud broadcast,” he said. “Only one person can listen at a time, and everyone will put out their own individual experience.”
He said he would love to see his idea replicated in other towns to help raise awareness of local wildlife.
“I like to imagine Bird Calls Phones all over the country, featuring [each city’s] local birds,” Schulman said, “I would love for it to be an experience for everyone.”
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