...The truth behind the dawn chorus.
Birds. Nature’s musicians. What could be sweeter than listening to a natural melody? Of course birds aren’t really making music. Bird song is just a bird’s way of saying, “This is My Tree, you Bastard.”
It would appear that the loudest singers are, as you might expect, the most territorial. Nightingales and robins, both superb songsters are the Hells Angels of the bird world. It is believed that about 10% of robins are murdered by other robins. Translate that into human crime statistics and you need more than an ASBO to sort them out.
As the days lengthen and the mornings get lighter and lighter, you might be forgiven for thinking that birds might do their stroppy tree bagging a little more quietly. But if you take a philosophical approach, you could join in International Dawn Chorus Day, get up early and go and listen to them properly, rather than just rolling over and jamming a pillow over your head. Over the next few weeks, there are guided walks all over the country, with experts to help you make sense of what you’re hearing.
Sunday May 6 (International Dawn Chorus Day proper) there are events in Edinburgh, Cambridgeshire,Bedfordshire, Lancashire
In Surrey, there is even an early morning boat trip on the River Wey, when it ought to be cool enough to keep the mozzis at bay (not early risers, they prefer nibbling at night)
Wednesday May 9 Cumbria – You can even get to work afterwards (if you have the strength)!
Saturday May 12- Sunday May 13, There are events in Somerset, Cornwall, Devon, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and West Sussex
Sunday 27th May: There are events in Shropshire, Bedfordshire
Most events start at, well, the crack of dawn. Sizergh in Cumbria and Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire, standing out by starting at an almost civilised 7.00 a.m. Follow the individual links for specific start times.
Calke Abbey in Derbyshire, where the warden clearly has stamina, has walks on two consecutive mornings, Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th May. He for one will no doubt be glad of the breakfast that comes as standard with most of these events.