Date: 1st May 2022
Time: from
4:30 a.m.
to 5:30 a.m.
Weather: dry,
dark and then cloudy, light wind, 10°C to 11°C
Today is International Dawn Chorus Day
This was my third International
Dawn Chorus Day visit to my St. Nicholas Church local patch site. The first was
during the Covid-19 lockdown on 3rd May 2020 and the second last year on 2nd May 2021.
Very early starts are
essential and when I woke up at 4 a.m., I could already hear a Song Thrush
singing. This was followed by a Robin and a Blackbird at 4:15
a.m.
As I made the short
walk from home and up Church Hill to St. Nicholas Church, I heard at least 5
singing Robins.
Although the dawn
chorus was wonderful, there were 2 particular highlights during my visit, both
at the end as I was walking back home.
Firstly, as I walked
back home down Church Hill, I heard a calling Stock Dove in the wooded
area to the south of the road although unfortunately I failed to see it. Nonetheless
this was my first record for the site bringing the total to 57 species.
Secondly, at the bottom
of Church Hill I heard and eventually saw a singing male Common Whitethroat
in the scrub at the beginning of the track from Larkins Tyres. This was my
first record for the site for 2022 bringing the total to 39 species and it was
in exactly the same location as my 2021 spring records.
With regard to the dawn
chorus, several Robins and a single Blackbird were singing as I
arrived at St. Nicholas Church at 4:30 a.m. and I heard at least 3 singing Song
Thrushes from around 4:45 a.m.
I heard my first Blackcap
at 4:50 a.m. and my first Chiffchaff at 5 a.m. These 2 summer visiting
warblers seemed much more numerous than during my 2 visits in 2020 and 2021. I heard at least 8 singing male Blackcaps
and at least 4 singing male Chiffchaffs.
As the dawn chorus developed over the hour of my
visit, the order that the various species (18) joined the symphony
of sound was as follows:
Robin
Blackbird
Song Thrush
Woodpigeon
Blackcap
Wren
Chiffchaff
Great Tit
Magpie
Blue Tit
Carrion Crow
Herring Gull
Dunnock
Goldfinch
Stock Dove
Green Woodpecker
House Sparrow
Common Whitethroat
Unfortunately, since it was so cloudy as the sky lightened, I was unable to witness the early morning conjunction of Venus and Jupiter
BBC news - Venus and Jupiter conjunction: planets to almost touch in night sky
Site totals to date
(2022 totals in brackets):
💚🦆 🦉🦋🐝🦊🦡🌼 🌳💚
Stay safe, stay well, stay strong, stay connected with nature
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