Dawn chorus delight for birders
BIRD enthusiasts made an early start to enjoy the dawn chorus at Hare Hill.
The Junior section of the Macclesfield RSPB Wildlife Explorers celebrated International Dawn Chorus Day with an early morning walk at local National Trust property Hare Hill.
Birds sing in the early morning to take advantage of still air so a group of nearly 40 explorers assembled by 6am to begin their dawn chorus walk. The route took the group around the formal gardens to the bird hide, up to and around Pistol Pond and then back to the walled garden.
They heard nuthatches, wrens and robins, and blackbird alarm calls were heard.
At the walled garden everyone honed their senses by wearing blindfolds and enjoyed the ‘Sunrise Symphony’ before playing a game that demonstrates how different birds discern others of the same species from their calls.
Group leader Tina Hanak said: “We can highly recommend making the effort to listen to the dawn chorus.
“Early morning birdsong is truly incredible at this time of year. It is a fantastic reminder that we are part of an amazing natural world.”
The explorers also enjoyed a barbecue breakfast thanks to donations from Tegg’s Nose Tea Room, which provided sausages, Flour Water Salt donated ciabatta rolls and Barrows Butchers donated the bacon.
For more about the Explorers go to their Facebook page.