Last weekend the alarm went off before the birds woke up. I was heading out on an adventure to a nature reserve over the border (sshhh) and I wanted to be there early because I wanted a whole day of being immersed in nature. The flask of coffee was made, the sandwiches were packed and as we opened the door, the sound of our own dawn chorus was already building - the robins, blackbirds and dunnocks that call our gardens home were singing their hearts out and the sparrows were chirping away to each other in the hedge. What a great start to a day!
The dawn chorus
Robin singing by Wendy Carter
For early risers, spring is a symphonic time of year...
Blackcap singing by Wendy Carter
When we arrived in Gloucestershire, the year-round birds that had been proclaiming their garden territories back home were joined in nature's chorus by our summer visitors. Here there were also blackcaps, chiffchaffs and willow warblers song and, wait, was that a common whitethroat too? Chaffinches, wrens and song thrushes joined in. Spring was here.
I'm not a naturally early riser but a few years ago I took part in a national survey run by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) to find out which birds wake first and whether streetlighting makes a difference to this. You can read more about the findings of the survey in this short article about how light affects wildlife but it was perhaps no real surprise for me to discover that robins and blackbirds started to sing first, before it's even light! One of the delights of milder weather is being able to leave the bedroom window open just ajar and being softly woken by the fluting song of a blackbird or the wistful song of a robin (before gently drifting back to sleep, safe in the knowledge that all is well out there).
The dawn chorus starts in late winter and builds as spring arrives, becoming a crescendo as our summer breeders return. Most of us will hear blackbirds, robins, great tits and blue tits. Many of us will have wrens, chaffinches and dunnocks joining in. Sadly, fewer of us now hear the repetitive song thrush's song each morning. If you're in a reasonably rural area, listen for the jubilant trill of the skylark descending from on high or even the 'little bit of bread and no cheeeeeeese' of hedge-hugging yellowhammers. As April moves on and May approaches, head into the wider countryside for whitethroats (both common and lesser) and chiffchaffs or listen for the screaming of swifts or the chattering of house martins or swallows as you head back home.
Wren by Wendy Carter
Of course, birds don't just sing to please us. They're defending their breeding territory or attracting (or retaining) a mate. Singing long and complex songs takes energy so any male that can wake up ready to sing loud and long must be a fearful opponent or a very attractive partner. During this morning symphony (there's a slighter one that takes place each evening), unpaired females will visit several territories to decide who is the best performer. (Some males take this a step further - male wrens, for example, construct several nests and tour potential mates around these before decisions are made. This can 'backfire', leaving some exhausted male wrens with more than one family to raise.).
A good territory has safe nesting opportunities and a rich supply of food for both the parents and the young - caterpillars, worms, spiders, flies etc. If you're lucky enough to have a garden (or are able to influence your local green space), have a look around to see what you'd make of it if you were a bird looking to set up a territory.
Whilst the dawn chorus is a full-on symphony - it’s thought that sound travels further in the cool, still air of dawn - if you’re not one for getting up early, why not tune into the more chamber music style of the evening chorus? As afternoon gives way to dusk, the sound isn’t as full but there’s still song to be heard. If you're still determined to get up early, try heading to a woodland as these offer some of the best opportunities for the dawn chorus. You'll need to get there early to fully appreciate the beauty of this natural marvel. Aim to arrive before dawn, keep quiet and let the natural harmonies wash over you.
