Are the bird sounds at The Masters real?

Everyone tuning into The Masters is accustomed to hearing the sounds of the crowd, Jim Nantz and all the familiar noises of both the CBS and ESPN broadcasts throughout the week at Augusta National Golf Club. One of those, of course, is the birds chirping and singing in the background throughout the day.

Some people might be listening to those sounds and thinking, wow, they must really hunt out bird nests and put microphones right next to them. And to be sure, that wouldn't be the craziest thing that a production team has done for a flagship sporting event.

However, more inquisitive minds have a more pertinent question for Augusta National Golf Club and, in turn, ESPN and CBS on the broadcast: Are The Masters bird sounds real?

Masters bird sounds: Real or fake?

The general consensus among golf fans and investigative minds in the sport are that the bird sounds at The Masters are largely fake, though not entirely.

Shane Ryan of Golf Digest took this question very seriously in trying to find the answer. Talking to numerous people in the know, people at Augusta National Golf Club, and many other sources, he tried to get to the bottom of it.

At the basis of his report is the fact that, particularly when watching the tournament at home, golf fans rarely, if ever, see birds on the course. While Ryan did have some colleagues who saw some birds, the popular belief remains that much of the bird sounds are piped in for the broadcast, as has been widely theorized.

That’s not to say that all of them are. There is a very real chance that, on a beautiful tree-laden property, we do catch some real bird noises throughout the round. Overall, though, it’s hard to believe that they constantly get the bird sounds they need at The Masters in relation to how often viewers hear them.