RSPB explains which birds are singing the early summer dawn chorus

The early birds

One of our most amazing wildlife events, the dawn chorus, is happening right now, and wherever you are there’s a good chance you can experience this fantastic free concert. The music you hear will depend on where you are, with gardens, farms and woodland each having a different ensemble of avian artistes.

At first light, the serious songsters take the stage. The blackbird is often the earliest soloist, perched high, out in the open. It has larger eyes than the other performers, allowing it to be up and ready to belt out its rich, flutey warble in low light.

Adult male blackbird. Photo: RSPB

The male is black with a bright orange beak, and he’ll be serenading the chocolate brown female as well as warning his rivals to stay away. This is, of course, the purpose of birdsong, and these musicians have to work hard to impress.

Vocal talent

For some birds this means showing off a wide repertoire. Song thrushes have an impressive vocabulary, repeating notes or phrases three or four times.

Song thrush. Photo: RSPB

These birds are slightly smaller than blackbirds with a brown back and speckled front, and they’re a much less familiar sight than they were 50 years ago. That’s because they have lost many of the places they need to nest and suitable areas to feed. By keeping a good, thick hedgerow and tolerating a damp area where worms can thrive, you can help boost song thrush numbers.

A bird with a truly remarkable range is the starling. These are stunning when seen up close, not just black with white spots, but glossy with green and purple hues.

European starling. Photo: RSPB

As well as being beautiful, they’re also rather talented. At this time of year the starling reveals its skill as an impressionist. These musical mimics copy the calls and songs of other birds including buzzards, owls and woodpeckers. They can also carry off convincing imitations of human speech, and mechanical noises like car alarms and phone ringtones!

Although they are now confined to a few special places now, it would seem unfair to omit our showstopping stars, the nightingales, when discussing vocal abilities.

Common nightingale. Photo: Sandra Palme

The nightingale at first glance looks like another brown bird, but it actually has one of the most impressive songs. If you’re ever lucky enough to hear this virtuoso you are in for a real treat as a sound often described as “liquid” pours out from deep in the undergrowth. Rich notes rise and fall, there’s a staccato segment, and a rich stream of warbling and chirping.

Nightingale populations have crashed in the UK, with 90% of these summer visitors disappearing in the last 50 years. Loss of suitable nesting locations is thought to be the biggest problem for them in the UK, and one of their most important sites, Lodge Hill in Kent, is threatened by development.

The National Nightingale Festival in May celebrates these star performers and highlights their decline.

Stage names

Some of this crooning cast of characters earned their names or nicknames from the sounds they make. The best known of these is the cuckoo, that famous nest invader. The “cuck-oo” call tells us spring has arrived, as these birds return from Africa. These are grey, dove-sized birds, and right now the female will be looking for nests to lay her eggs in. Dunnocks, meadow pipits and reed warblers tend to be her favourite unwitting ‘foster parents’.

Common cuckoo. Photo: RSPB

The Chiffchaff is another bird named after its simple high-pitched two note call, “chiff-chaff, chiff-chaff”. Or, if you’re in Germany, “zilp-zalp”. This tiny, dainty little olive-brown warbler is another summer visitor, although some now overwinter here. If you wait patiently under a tree where a chiffchaff is calling you should eventually see it as it moves between twigs, picking insects off the leaves.

Larger and greyer than the song thrush, the mistle thrush’s official name reflects the mistletoe berries it likes to eat. It also has a wonderful old nickname, “stormcock’. This is because the mistle thrush is a dedicated trouper, insisting the show must go on whatever the weather. Even in strong wind and rain this determined bird will perch at the top of the tallest tree it can find and blast out its blackbird-like song.

Spring quartet

The dawn chorus wouldn’t be complete without the quartet of dunnock, great tit, robin and wren. Great tits are distinctive with their black and white heads and bright yellow breast, and their song is easily to remember too. It’s another clear two-note see-saw tune “tea-cher, tea-cher, tea-cher”.

The robin song will have also become a familiar sound, with both males and females singing throughout the winter, sometimes practising their lines with a quiet “subsong”. These little red-breasted divas are pretty strict when it comes to the boundaries of their chosen patch and will not tolerate a visit from another robin during the nesting season.

Dunnock. Photo: RSPB

The dunnock, on the surface a dull looking grey and brown bird which lurks under bushes, have a more complex social system. Both genders have their own patches to defend and where these overlap males will mate with two or more females, and females with more than one male. This bird sings a short song, a high pitched warble.

Finally, a song guaranteed to make you want an encore from the Shirley Bassey of the bird world. The little brown wren with its cocked up tail blows the audience away with a passionate belter, an unbelievably loud tune for such a tiny bird.

Wren. Photo: RSPB

Make the most of this performance while you can. Early morning birdsong peaks in early May but will reduce as the birds become occupied with raising their chicks. Recent research has shown that listening to birdsong can lift your mood for several hours so why not treat yourself to an early start?

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This article was first published in Smallholder magazine. For your copy subscribe here or buy from your local newsagent.