In March and May, the Action for Hogshaw team set their alarm clocks really early, put on warm clothes and got out at an unearthly hour. The plan was to run two dawn chorus walks for the public to sample the pleasures of birdsong at Hogshaw.
It is not surprising that this lovely woodland has a correspondingly rich chorus. With it lying in a dale surrounded on all sides by houses, Hogshaw serves up a delicious pre-breakfast bowl of birdsong to all those living around. Our two events were timed to capture key moments. The walk on the 28 March was in a period when the chorus is created only resident species: thrushes, blackbirds, blue and great tits, wrens and robins. The song suite might be smaller but it gave our walk leader Lindsey Hambleton a great opportunity to point out a few characteristic soloists before the full spring chorus kicks in. Wren was one good example. It has really loud, intense trilling phrases that sound a bit like a martial fife played with gusto.
Our walk on 9 May was really for the night owls among us. And we should make a low bow to one intrepid participant Brett Sentance who had to set off from Ashbourne in the pitch dark at 4am to be with us. Hopefully he wasn’t disappointed. As well as our resident Hogshaw birds, including lots of robins and blackbirds, we also heard from several spring migrants including willow warblers possibly from as far away as Angola. Then there were blackcaps and chiffchaffs, which may have come from North Africa or southern Europe. We also heard a snatch of common whitethroat, which may just have arrived in Buxton from somewhere like Mali. Truly it takes the whole world to make Hoghsaw’s chorus complete.
Their songs might be pleasurable for us, but why exactly do birds sing at dawn? One reason is the fact that their vocalisations bring attention to the authors. And that includes possible predators like sparrowhawks. So, better to do your singing when it is still too early to be seen easily. Another question often asked is why exactly do birds sing at all? The purpose of their songs is to establish breeding territories and to attract a mate. So there is an element of competition in what we call the ‘dawn chorus’. However, if you are going to conduct your turf wars and compete over territory then there is no better way to resolve such matters than through music.
By Mark Cocker
