Sunday 7th May is Dawn Chorus Day, an idea that started in Birmingham in the 1980s and has now spread nationwide.
The dawn chorus at this time of year is so deafening you don’t need an alarm clock. Although the early morning cheeping and twittering is lovely to listen to, it’s more about defending territory and raising chicks than pretty bird song. The morning birdsong you hear is usually males. The loudest singers are considered to be the strongest by the listening females because it shows them to be fit and healthy. If you listen carefully you’ll probably notice a sequence. The earliest risers are often the skylarks, song thrushes, robins and blackbirds with wrens and warblers joining in a little later, when their food sources (insects) are out and about.
You may want to go out into the countryside to hear the dawn chorus but you don’t have to. Even in your garden or on your balcony you can enjoy the riot of birdsong.
Herefordshire Wildlife Trust have an organised Dawn Chorus Walk on Tuesday 9th May. Click here for more details, and to book.
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