International Dawn Chorus Day

International Dawn Chorus Day at the RSPB Forsinard Flows nature reserve.

International Dawn Chorus Day is a world wide celebration of the wonderful sound of the dawn chorus. We have an unusual dawn chorus here at Forsinard. Many of the species are fond of remote and wild places, so they can be difficult to locate over 200, 000 hectares and as the sun rises very early, the birds are up nice and early too! Although we would have liked to run a guided walk, we thought that 3am across the bog may be just a little bit too early!

So instead I have been out into the reserve and surrounding areas to record the dawn chorus. It was a lovely morning out on the bog and in the farmland. The highlights for me were seeing a short eared owl quartering over the bog and listening to the skylarks and cuckoos sing! Have a listen to one of the recordings and see what you can hear. We could pick out 18 species overall (as well as the local cockerel!)

Melvich:

Cuckoo Cuculus canorus

Curlew Numenius arquata

Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus

Black bird Turdus merula

Jackdaw Corvus monedula

Starling Sturnus vulgaris

House sparrow Passer domesticus

Hooded crow Corvus cornix

Pheasant Phasianus colchicus

Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus

(Unfortunately we cannot upload this recording right now due to its size)

Halladale:

Willow warbler Phylloscopus trochilus

Wood pigeon Columba palumbus

Herring gull Larus argentatus

Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs

Blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus

Coal tit Periparus ater

Forsinain:

Skylark Alauda arvensis

Meadow pippet Anthus pratensis

Golden Plover Pluvialis apricaria