How to hide your voice: Noise-cancelling bird photography blind

Getting close to birds is a great challenge in wildlife photography. Bird photography blinds may be the most effective and least intrusive way. These essential structures can allow to visually and audibly conceal photographers from the habitat if properly designed. However, the acoustic design of the blinds has been overlooked. Herein, we present noise-cancelling blinds which allow photographing birds at close range. Firstly, we conduct a questionnaire in the eco-tourism centre located in Yunnan, China. Thus, we determine the birders' expectations of the indoor sound environment. We then identify four variables to examine the impact of architectural and acoustic decisions on noise propagation. The numerical simulations are performed in the acoustic module of Comsol MultiPhysics. Minimizing the structural size and planning the building with closed windows is a proper decision to reduce noise in the architectural design process. Sound-absorbing materials reduce the acoustic energy indoors, thus decreasing the outdoor noise. Sound-proofing materials help to cancel the acoustic transmission indoors to outdoors. Using sound-absorbing and proofing materials together is the best way to minimize noise both indoors and outdoors. Our study demonstrated that photography blinds require a strong and thorough acoustic design for both human and bird well-being.