I have been a residential volunteer at Leighton Moss for just over a month now and in the past couple of weeks, spring has stepped up a gear. The woodlands and garden are alive with birdsong and with the help of the wonderful and knowledgeable staff, volunteers and visitors at Leighton Moss I have been starting to pick apart this wonderful world of sound.
It’s just spectacular to walk along the pathways and hear the enormous diversity of life here at the reserve. Trying to untangle who’s who and what’s what can be daunting, but once you open your ears and your eyes to the world around you; you see the magic in unpicking its mysteries.
You can hear the melodious blackbirds, robins and dunnocks, the chatterings of chiffchaff and great tit, the churring of chaffinches, the racket of wrens and nuthatches and the three dimensional, otherworldly, mindboggling creations of the song thrush.
A song thrush belting out its beauty of a song. Picture by Chris Gomersall (rspb-images.com)
Over the past few weeks the influx of summer migrants has stepped up a gear and we have been flooded with willow warblers. About the same size as a blue tit, this small warbler is actually very similar to a chiffchaff. The two birds are very tricky to tell apart by sight alone, instead their song is the most common identification tool. While a chiffchaff will very distinctly sing the two tone song of its name - "chiff chaff chiff chaff chiff", the willow warbler sings a more melodic and fluid song of descending notes. As you walk around the garden and woodlands the air is filled with the songs of these two little birds.
These aren't the only warblers we have been joined by; in the garden listen out for the song of the blackcap, so called because of the males distinctive jet black cap. The blackcaps song is one of the loveliest sounds of Spring, sweet and melodic with rich clear notes. See if you can spot one in the trees or singing from a patch of brambles as you walk through the garden. You will also hear reed warblers and sedge warblers singing as you walk through the reedbed. Loud and proud these noisy little birds have no idea that their songs are described as 'unmusical', 'lacking melody' and 'grating'. A good place to hear the reed warbler is if you head down to the end of the pond dipping platform where we have had one happily singing away all week. One trick to tell the songs apart of the reed warbler and sedge warbler is to imagine yourself conducting to the song of a reed warbler, whereas a sedge warbler is apparently 'un-conductable'.
Look out for that distinctive jet black hood of a blackcap in the garden. Picture by Martin Kuchczynski
In the very early hours of the morning our first spotted crake was heard near the causeway. This elusive bird is very secretive and skulks about in the dense vegetation of the reedbed. You will only know it's there if you hear its distinctive 'whip-lash' call. The spotted crake is specially protected, in the last 10 years there have only been 30-80 pairs breeding in Britain. Which is why places like Leighton Moss are so important to these mysterious birds. The best time to hear the 'whip-lash' of the spotted crake is at dawn and dusk. While the visitor centre is open from 9.30 am-5 pm we don't close the reserve or hides, so keep your ears open if you go for an evening walk down the causeway.
An illustration of the elusive spotted crake by Mike Langman (rspb-images.com)
If you fancy taking a dip into the world of birdsong then join us for the first of three Birdsong for Beginners walks this Sunday, where our experts (and me!) will help you to decipher the mysterious languages of the woodland. Or if you're willing to brave the early morning then join us for our Dawn Chorus walk in celebration of international dawn chorus day on Sunday 1 May.