Singing stars of the countryside
Warblers are the maverick virtuosos of the dawn chorus. Most of the strident notes that ring out at the first hint of morning light come courtesy of thrushes, wrens, robins and finches.
Cuckoos, pigeons and even crows add their own ditties to create the iconic sound of the English countryside in spring.
Each of these birds’ songs are as distinctive as musical instruments, be they the flute-like sounds of the blackbird or the percussive drum rolls of the wren.
Yet, listen carefully to this rhythm section with its repeated refrains, and you will hear they are accompanied by joyful voices that bring excitement and vigour to this natural concerto.
What warblers lack in flamboyant plumage is compensated for by the most intricate and varied voices of any British birds, pouring out summer solos to attract mates and defend territories.
Forests, wetlands and hedgerows are prime venues to enjoy warbler songs at their finest, with many of the choristers using notes stolen from other birds for their performances.
Three little brown birds that have mastered this art of mimicry are reed, sedge and marsh warblers, the latter incorporating the notes of common British birds such as the goldfinch and swallow.
Two ‘sylvia’ warblers, often found in woodland fringes and parkland, are notoriously difficult to separate by voice but, to my ears, the blackcap sounds more thrush-like than the jabbering, frenetic garden warbler.
The distantly related common whitethroat makes up for its scratchy and discordant song by delivering sequences with an eye-catching song-flight, with male birds rising high over scrubby territories like a lark on butterfly wings.
When I began watching birds in the 1960s, whitethroats were in peril. A persistent drought in the Sahal – the arid bushland south of the Sahara where the birds winter – pushed them to the brink but, like its flight of fancy, they are now upwardly mobile and provide one of the most welcome sights and sounds of summer.
Strident in the early dawn are the thrush, wren, robin and finches