Dawn Chorus Walk 24 April 2022

Public Awareness

24 Apr

It is 4.30 am on a Sunday morning and a group of 17 hardy souls are stood in a cold, dark car park in Alresford. Why were they there would be a sensible question to ask? Well they were there to attend a dawn chorus walk, the first event of the Watercress Ways' annual Dawn to Dusk day, and their main day for showcasing some of what the 27 mile circular walking, cycling, and horse-riding route they have created in the beautiful countryside north of Winchester, has to offer.

Despite the early hour and distinct chill in the air, after two years of pandemic forced postponement, it was great for trustees to be able to once again meet the route users and charity supporters.

Trustee Clive Cook, and RSPB ornithologist Mike Robinson gave the group a short introduction to what the next two or three hours would entail - a slow amble through the dark, the grey pre-dawn, dawn, then sunrise, stopping frequently to listen to one of natures' springtime masterpieces, the dawn chorus. Our expert leaders helped identify the participants. Before even the first step had been taken, and still in darkness, the first solitary bird, a robin opened proceedings with a brief, distant song.

It's appearance first had been predicted, as typically the chorus participants take to their stages in a set sequence. Robins, blackbirds and thrushes are first, then these pre-dawn singers are joined by woodpigeons, wrens and warblers, while great tits, blue tits, sparrows and finches only joining in when it's light enough for them to see. And so it proved, that as the group moved across Arlebury Park towards the river (avoiding stepping on a foraging hedgehog) a blackbird started a tentative first call, then a short while later a Song Thrush could be heard in the distance.

As light began to seep into the sky, and the listeners moved along the riverbank, more and more birds took to the stage and began to sing. Water birds, woodland birds, garden birds, and summer migrants such as warblers fresh over from their epic journeys from Africa all staked their claims on both territory and potential mates through the medium of song. Increasing light, and a move up, out of the valley and into more open country and farmland brought a new set of characters, with an increasing number now also being seen as well as heard. A truly lovely sunrise accompanied the group as they slowly made their way back down to the river past watercress beds, hares and rabbits, and those precursors to Summer, the swallows.

With the rest of the world now awakening, and the last of the night's bats having a final feed above the rivers' edge trees, the carpark was reached and smiles all round greeted the appearance of coffee, tea, and breakfast pastries courtesy of the Chairman. Totting up the birds heard and seen Clive revealed that 36 different species had been enjoyed and identified as part of a Hampshire dawn chorus and beautiful sunrise - not a bad start to a day.

Clive Cook, Trustee