Coronavirus Blog 4: Dawn Chorus

Our native birds are reaching a peak in their breeding behaviour. Male birds attract a female and advertise territory through song.

The first Sunday in May is dedicated as International Dawn Chorus Day.

For a truly uplifting experience, I would highly recommend setting an alarm clock and taking a seat in your garden just before it begins getting light. If getting out of bed early is not for you or you do not have access to a garden, simply open the bedroom window and let the bird song from the streets wash over you.

Often it is the robin that can be heard first. This species can even be heard singing in the dark, triggered by the presence of artificial lighting. Sometimes people mistakenly think they can hear the song of a nightingale. Both species have a wonderful warbling song with dips and trills that speak of all the promise of Spring. However, the nightingale is now a rare species in the UK; the robin is a common and endearing early-morning sound in your neighbourhood.

Written by Edward Andrews from Shropshire Council’s outdoor partnerships team.  The team manages and preserves country parks and countryside sites across Shropshire for people to enjoy and wildlife to flourish.

Keep informed and sign up to our daily Coronavirus email updates

Shropshire Council wants to keep you as up to date and informed as possible. To help us do this, we have developed a coronavirus update that will be sent daily at 8pm via email to anyone who has signed up to our e-bulletins.

This update includes the day’s key Shropshire Council news, and some key news from our partners, relating to coronavirus-linked issues.  Please click here to sign up for the updates.

Please do encourage your family and friends to sign up to the updates too. This will help us keep everyone up to date with the rapidly-evolving crisis.

Useful links:

Government: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
NHS: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
Public Health England: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/public-health-england
Defra: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs

Previous blogs

First sign of Spring
Brimstone Butterfly 
Bluebells – The Woodland Blues