BBC Breathing Places is a major campaign to inspire andmotivate you to create and care for nature-friendly green spaceswhere you live.Getting out and enjoying nature can have greatbenefits for you and there are lots of excitingways you can get involved.

Go wild with Breathing Places atbbc.co.uk/breathingplaces

”Get up early and make a cup of tea. Take a long sip. Open the window, breathe and listen to the sound of a new day.”Adrian Chiles

Adrian Chiles’ guide to the dawn chorus

The cheat’s way1 Head for bed and set your

alarm for dawn.

2 Awake to alarm and switch off.

3 Ignore time on clock.

4 Stumble bleary-eyed towindow and open a crack.

5 Fall back into bed and tuneinto the symphony of thesongbirds.

6 Drift back to sleep to the dulcettones of the dawn chorus.

If you balk at the idea of wakingat dawn, listen out for the duskchorus instead about an hourbefore sunset. It isn’t as easy to hear as the dawn chorusbecause it’s a busy, noisy time of day. So book yourself a fewminutes of silence, turn off theTV and zone out the traffic, prickup your ears and tune in.

Or for a wilderexperience...Go on a family adventure: rise before 4am and head out to your nearest park or into thecountryside. Whether in the city,the country or your own garden,you’ll be amazed at the range ofbirds you can hear when you’reout in the open. If you’re really keen, why not join an organisedearly morning bird walk on anature reserve?

Check out events with our partners atbbc.co.uk/breathingplaces

This booklet will guide youthrough the wonders of thedawn chorus, helping you totune in, sift through the soundsof dawn and hear that rudeawakening as a symphony.

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What is the dawn chorus?

From early spring to summer, asday breaks, songbirds live up totheir name and fill the air withmusic. It’s the males who singthe longest and loudest, for tworeasons: to defend their territoryand attract a mate. Think of acockerel – his brash crowingmight not be music to the ears,but the principle’s the same:when he shouts out “Cock-a-doodle-doo”, he’s warning anyboys that he’s in charge andalerting the girls that he’s about.But it’s the sweet sounds of thesongbirds such as the robin andsong thrush that make the dawnchorus such an ode to joy.

International Dawn Chorus DayInternational Dawn Chorus Dayis celebrated on the first Sundayof every May. It began in the1980s when the broadcaster andenvironmentalist Chris Bainesheld the first dawn chorus eventon his 40th birthday. He askedeveryone to attend his party at4am so they could enjoy thedawn chorus with him!

Since then dawn chorus eventshave been held as far afield asthe Caribbean and South EastAsia. But you don’t have totravel to the tropics to enjoy thedawn chorus – it’s just as richand varied right on yourdoorstep and there are plenty of organised outings to join.

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“The dawn chorus is a simple andbeautiful way ofsharing nature withlots of people.”Chris Baines, environmentalist,broadcaster and founder ofInternational Dawn Chorus Day

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Bird bingo

Play bird bingo with our topstars of the dawn chorusFine-tune your ears and listen out for some star singers in the dawn chorus. If you’vealready picked up a BreathingPlaces dawn chorus CD then listen along, or log on tobbc.co.uk/breathingplacesto hear the song of each bird.Here are some songs to identify:

”The dawn chorus is one of nature’s most precious gifts. Make the effort to hear it, and you’ll be walking on air for the rest of the day!”Mark Ward, RSPB

Song Thrush – has a rich and variedsong. Often one of the first birds to start off thedawn chorus.

Early bird

Robin – has a sweetsinging voice. Itsfamiliar refrain canbe heard all overthe UK.

Spotted

Blackbird – dressedsmartly all in black,the male blackbird hasa beautiful, bubbling,warbling song.

Pie in the sky

Many of these birds can be heard all over the UK althougha few are not present in the far north and west of Scotland.

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Chiffchaff –helpfully says itsname “chiffchaffchiffchaff” making iteasier to recognize.

Warbler!

Nightingale – thefamous song of thenightingale is fastand loud but is onlyheard in the southeast of England.

Florence

Wren – makes a lot ofnoise for such a smallbird. Its high-pitchedsong can be heard ingardens and woodsall over the UK.

Seen andheard

Great Tit – has adistinctive two-notesong – “teacherteacher teacher”.

Teach-you!

Goldfinch – has ahigh, twitteringsong rather like a canary.

Spotted!

Starling – can alter itssong by impersonatingnot just other birdsbut also objects suchas car alarms andmobile phones.

Bird house!

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Wood Pigeon – itsdistinctive “co-coo-coo” can often beheard echoingdown chimneypots.

Co-coo-coo

Blue Tit – thisstriking, little, blueand yellow birdhelps you to “see,see, see” when it calls.

See, see, seen

House Sparrow –hardly a song, butthe lively “chirps”and chattering ofgroups of sparrowscan brighten up adull morning.

Line!

Skylark – one of the earliest birds inthe dawn chorus,coining the phrase“up with the lark”.

The larkascending!

Chaffinch – thiscommon gardenbird has a short andcheerful song.

Cherry-doo

Whitethroat – thisbird spends winterin the Sahara desertand comes to theUK in the summerto breed.

Bingo!

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Dawn chorus bird diaryWhy not keep a personal diary to help

you track what you’ve spotted?

Date / Time Location The birds I heard were

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All about birds

Why do birds sing at dawn?Birds sing at dawn because it’s quiet. Singing at dawn isthought to be 20 times moreeffective than singing at middaywhen there is more backgroundnoise. The fuss dies down when it’s light enough to findsome breakfast.

How do birds sing?Birds have a syrinx which works like our vocal cords.What’s special about it is thatsome birds, such as the songthrush, can sing more than onenote at a time.

Do all birds sing?Some species of birds, like gulls,do not have songs, but mosthave something to sing about.

It is the passerines (thesongbirds) who are the starsingers of the dawn chorus.

Why do birds sing in the spring?As spring approaches, thelonger days activate a chemicalchange in the brains of malebirds. They realise it’s time tostart breeding and so the dawnchorus begins.

Do some birds sing earlier than others?Some birds do start singing veryearly in the morning. Robins,song thrushes and blackbirdsare always among the first tostrike up.

The changing dawn chorusNoise and light pollution arechanging the dawn chorus. Insome places, robins can beheard singing through the night,which may be due to light fromstreetlamps confusing them asto when dawn breaks. Studiessuggest that a changing climatemight see new birds taking upresidence in the UK – their songsbringing new melodies to thedawn chorus.

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Find your flock

Try this with your kids! The game lasts for abouttwo minutes – it’s a goodicebreaker and it helps youremember bird songs and find out why birds sing them.

Preparations: You need at least10 people to play this game andas many pieces of paper as thereare people. Divide the paperinto five piles. Write the name of a bird and the sound it makeswhen it sings on all the pieces ofpaper in one pile, making sureeach pile names a different bird.Shuffle the paper slips.

How to play1 Introduce the bird songs

to the players:

Chaffinch – “pink, pink” (like a hammer hitting stone)

Great Tit – “teacher, teacher” (with a squeaky, seesawing sound)

Blue Tit – “see, see, see” (with a high-pitched voice!)

Wood Pigeon – “I don’tknoooow” (slowly with a Lancastrian accent!)

Starling – “click, click, click” (like clicking fingers)

2 Dish out the pieces of paper atrandom among the players.

3 Explain that birds sing to find amate and to stake their territory.

4 When everyone’s ready, tell the group to start singing theirsongs as loudly as they can.

5 Their aim is to find the rest oftheir flock and gather in a group (still singing).

6 The last group to gather as aflock or anyone without a mateis excluded from the next round.

Get your own garden orchestra

If you like what you hear, whynot invite the dawn chorusorchestra to sing outside yourwindow? Many birds which wereonce common, such as sparrowsand starlings, are now in decline.You can help out by making yourgarden or any outside space bird-friendly. Here are a few ideas:

Give a bird a homeBird boxes are easily availablefrom garden centres and areeasy to make too. Different birdslike different boxes. Log on tobbc.co.uk/breathingplacesto find out which boxes suitwhich birds.

Provide water for birds If your garden looks thirsty thenthe birds are thirsty too so helpthem out and provide a safeplace for them to drink. They’lluse it as bath water too.

Plant for birdsYou can help birds by creating a varied habitat in your garden.A good mixture of differentspecies and sizes of flowers,shrubs and trees can providefood and shelter for birds andother wildlife.

Feed the birdsYou can attract birds into yourgarden simply by leaving foodout for them. Winter is the mostimportant time to feed birds butyou can do it all year round.

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Mozart’s starlingThe composer Mozart had apet starling. Centuries ago,these birds were popular petsdue to their ability to mimicsounds. Mozart’s starling waseven able to whistle parts ofhis compositions.

For more information about BBC Breathing Places,visit your local library, listen to your local BBC Radiostation’s nature programmes or log on to:

bbc.co.uk/breathingplacesOther useful dawn chorus and bird links:www.idcd.infowww.wildlifetrusts.orgwww.rspb.org.ukwww.bto.org.ukWith thanks to the RSPB and the Wildlife Trusts

Design: red-stone.comPrinted on 100% recycled paper

© Published by BBC Learning 2008