When the natural world wakes up
By Donald Lyven. As published on The Archer, July 2024
International Dawn Chorus Day fell on Sunday 5 May and a group of brave souls got themselves to Long Lane Pasture before sunrise to be greeted by the pleasing symphony of birdsong, with the bonus of seeing a few bats flitting about despite the temperature being 7°C.
The brightest stars were fading in the clear and lightening sky as a discernible mist hung low over the dew-laced meadow. All the usual suspects were calling: robin, blackbird, song thrush, blackcap, chiff chaff and great tit, but the wren as always, despite its diminutive size, was the loudest and most dominant in the morning soundscape.
Seen silhouetted crossing the sky were magpies, pigeons, carrion crows and gulls, flying over with a purpose only they knew. In the east, the evolving hues of yellows and pinks blazed in anticipation of the sun's rising. The blanket of mist began lifting as the first glimpse of the sun's orange disk came into view.
The lighter it became the less the birds were calling, but new sounds caught my ear: the song of the garden warbler, the tuneful notes of the ever-present goldfinches, and the unmistakeable chirping of house sparrows; late to the party but welcome nonetheless.
It had been a cold, early start at the pasture, opposite the fire station on Long Lane, N3, but the clarity of the dawn chorus before the cacophony of traffic began and the privilege of seeing the colourful sunrise on a new day made the effort worthwhile.