| DAWN CHORUS IN BELFAST HARBOUR
Anthony MacGeehan of the RSPB went down to the Belfast
Harbour shore to sample the Dawn Chorus. He writes here
on the Dawn Chorus phenomena.
Listen >>
MARK JEFFERS,
JOURNALIST, DESCRIBES THE EXPERIENCE
It’s not often I’m up before the birds
but on a bitter Sunday morning in April, at 5am I gave
them a run for their money.
I met RSPB warden and thoroughly nice guy Anthony at
the RSPB Reserve in the heart of Belfast’s industrial
Harbour Estate. In full winter regalia, we crawled through
the woodland area of the reserve, in an attempt to reach
a hide about a metre from the edge of its manmade lagoon
without spooking the stars of the show.
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We lay in position for about an hour. My microphone
was hogging the viewing gap that would have allowed me
to see the sights, but instead I lay and listened in
wonderment to the anonymous sounds created by different
species; I’m told they were showing off to the
ladies, eating breakfast and reacting to annoyances in
their surroundings.
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There are a number of fantastic things about this reserve.
The atmosphere from Belfast Port really sets the scene
of the industrial area, full of heavy machinery and clattering
containers. The birds were not phased by this noise in
the slightest. The woodland and wetland bird combination
adds such a depth to the sound I experienced that morning;
it made me wonder where else in the world except beside
a chugging old ferry in Belfast Port could I hear that.
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This was the first time I was let loose with a decent
microphone and a proper recorder and allow myself the
title of ‘sound recordist’. The position
of the hide was so central in capturing the vocal delights
of the birds, and the atmosphere of the port, it hopefully
sets the scene for what is an intriguing and mystical
location in the centre of Belfast.
REASONS TO BE
TUNEFUL BY ANTHONY McGEEHAN RSPB
It is easier to explain why birds sing than to answer
the question, ‘Why do birds sing?’ Explaining
why they sing is easy. Like the rest of us, birds need
to communicate. They need to tell friends and spouses that
they are OK, that they worry about stuff from time to time
and that, when it comes to raising a family, they are not
only proud real estate owners but also good crooners! Not
just song, but a range of calls – we call it language – is
required to keep contact, identify yourself, sound the
alarm, and teach vocabulary to youngsters.
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Every one of an estimated 8,500 bird species on the planet
has a unique voice. However, not all of them sing. There
are a few ground rules that help distinguish the divas
from the dummies. Eye-catching plumage seldom needs an
equally breathtaking vocal accompaniment, so drake waterfowl
flash their finery at females without a proper song. True
masters of the air – eagles for one – use the
sky as a stage and perform spectacular flips and rolls
when they are in the mood for courtship. Some, however,
are closet romantics. Crows and shy Bullfinches do sing,
but only serenade the object of their desires when she
is within earshot or, better still, touching distance.
Probably the only living things to hear the song of a Raven
are female Ravens.
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However, long before Max Clifford, many smaller birds
worked out that the best way to publicise your presence
was to sing. Voices broadcast existence and whereabouts,
but they also carry a lot of information between the lines.
A male Great Tit builds up a repertoire of many notes acquired
through a lifetime; the richness of his vocal range confers
status. He will stand out as an Alpha male in his patch
of woodland. Male songbirds that broadcast Maiden songs
in their first spring (called plastic song) will have a
harder job finding a mate. What self-respecting female
will want a husband whose voice has not yet matured: Jimmy
Osmond rather than Frank Sinatra. In undergrowth and woodland,
voice matters more than looks – a triumph of radio
over television. Tricks abound. A male Wren that inserts
a novel note into its song may steal a march on neighbouring
males. Not to be outdone in courtship battles, rivals may
copy the innovative phrase if they think it enhances their
chances of finding a mate. Mimicry is rife. Resident Starlings
rip off a wide range of local sounds; Sedge Warblers, freshly
arrived in April from winter quarters in Nigeria, come
complete with African sounds in their vocal arsenal.
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A lot of thought goes into deciding when to sing. Effort
must not be wasted. Singing burns calories and may interfere
with valuable feeding time. One tactic is to sing when
the opposition is otherwise engaged. That way, only your
voice gets heard. Mistle Thrushes frequently sing during
rain, a time when other species reduce activity and pipe
down. The habit earns them ‘Stormcock’ as a
nickname. Dusk and pre-dawn are preferred by Song Thrushes,
especially in late winter when little else bothers to fill
the airwaves. However, for most songbirds, spring is a
time for ‘pistols at dawn’. Soundwars would
be another way of putting it. Wind is the greatest enemy
of birdsong but even at the end of windy nights the air
calms just before daybreak. That is one of many reasons
why dawn is an optimum time to sing. Here are some of the
others. At the end of each night, males defending breeding
territories need to let the world know that they are still
alive and are either looking for a mate – or determined
to defend a new wife and property against all-comers. Migrant
birds travel by night and seek out landing places among
suitable breeding habitat just before first light. Hence
the night may deliver potential breeding partners who need
to be wooed by song.
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Insectivorous birds cannot eat until
their food takes wing or crawls into the light and warmth
of day. In the cold light of dawn, warblers sing to mark
territories and seek romance before breakfast.
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So why is it that many birds opt to sing, and weave beautiful
notes into complex patterns – truly, music to human
ears? After all, they could have used their vocal abilities
to produce sounds that, while individually distinct, might
have sounded like so many different buzzing insects? For
some groups, finches for example, it is probable that basic,
unmusical notes characterised early ancestors and were progressively
honed and embellished in the name of competition, ultimately
leading to the gradual emergence of new species. Nature
rejoices in differences, diversity, innovation and adaptation.
Birdsong, in other words, is evolution’s soundtrack.
Do the singers have soul? You bet. Their lives depend on
it.
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