SS15 wildlife watching: The "night singers" are back

Monday 22 February 2021

The "night singers" are back

I recently wrote about the increase in bird song that I can now hear from my flat as spring approaches .... see here.

The eastern extremity of my local patch site around St. Nicholas Church with its scrub and young woodland is just outside the block of flats where I live. This is the reason why I hear so many calling and singing birds from my flat, especially during the period from early spring to early summer when the diversity and intensity is at it peak.

I have previously heard Tawny Owl from my flat (although not for a few years now) but during the spring and summer months I frequently hear bird song long after it has gone dark and during the middle of the night.

The "night singers" are back for their 2021 season.

Last night, I woke up at around 3:15 a.m. and I was vaguely aware of bird song. As I could not get back to sleep, I got up, opened the window and heard a singing Song Thrush and a singing Blackbird. I listened to their beautiful songs in the clear, still night air for a few minutes and then went back to bed.

However, as I could still not get back to sleep, I eventually got up again at 3:55 a.m. and opened the window to hear that a singing Robin had joined the "night time symphony".

So …. why do birds sing at night?

Surprisingly, it is not to give pleasure and enjoyment to insomniacs 😀.

For most people, bird song is normally associated with the day time/daylight hours.

Apart from the owl species, the other typical nocturnal vocalists such as Corncrakes, Nightjars and Nightingales are all migratory birds with a short and well defined song period during the spring and summer months when they visit the UK to breed (there is zero chance of hearing or seeing the first 2 species from my flat and only an extremely remote chance of the latter which does occasionally get recorded in the Langdon Hills area).

All birds, whether diurnal or nocturnal, are governed by the daily rhythm of light and dark. The onset of song in the morning, the dawn chorus, is triggered by a combination of the bird’s internal clock and the very first rays of light. It is thought that the dawn chorus happens because birds wake up before there is enough light for them to feed and so they focus on singing instead to reaffirm their territories and to let potential rivals know that they are still around having survived another night.

Even low natural light intensity and also artificial light such as street lighting can trigger song in some birds and they will continue singing until the last light has faded in the evening but extend singing in to the night time hours.

Here are the contributors to the "night time symphony" last night ....