Dawn chorus delights

Spring has well and truly sprung, and the nation’s birds are giving their all to their songs at daybreak. International Dawn Chorus Day, on Sunday 3 May, is a celebration of this natural phenomenon, and perhaps the perfect excuse to get up early and enjoy it.

The dawn chorus is well known, but why do birds choose this time of year to sing out so loudly? Stuart Warrington, the National Trust’s Nature Conservation Adviser in the East of England, explained: “The dawn chorus is a conversation really. Song birds, both native and recent arrivals, are up and singing early, shouting to let their kin know they’re there. The males are advertising to the females, singing loudest to demonstrate their strength. This behaviour has developed so that birds don’t need to fight to establish the pecking order.”

What to listen out for? Stuart suggested: “It depends where you are. On farmland listen out for the pee-wit calls of lapwings and the delightful song-flight of skylarks. Male skylarks fly up and hover over their territories singing continuously for many minutes and then parachute down. In woodland, parks and gardens song thrushes and blackbirds are brilliant singers. As are robins and wrens – they may be one of our smallest birds but they certainly make up for it with the volume of their song. Chiffchaffs, willow warblers, swallows, martins and blackcaps also make up some of the chorus.”

Stuart continued: “You may not get visual clues to help identify what you are listening to because their loud singing means they will not necessarily show themselves, sitting on the edge of a bush rather than on top of a tree.”

If you are up for an early start and could use some help to identify the singers, the National Trust is on hand with Dawn Chorus Walks to choose from:

Sheringham Park, Norfolk

Dawn Chorus, 5am to 7.30am, Sunday 10 May

Take an early morning stroll with local ornithologist Moss Taylor to see and hear the park’s birds at their best. Places cost £6 for adults and £3 for children, including coffee and croissant. Booking, on 01263 820550, is essential.