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| Presenter David Maxwell and Claire Barnett from RSPB NI will be live on BBC Radio Ulster this Sunday (May 5) from just after midnight for this year’s Dawn Chorus |
Sunday 5 May.
Live on BBC Radio Ulster from midnight.
Also available live and after broadcast on BBC Sounds.
Join presenter David Maxwell and Claire Barnett from RSPB NI, live on BBC Radio Ulster on International Dawn Chorus Day (Sunday 5 May), as they link up with radio colleagues in RTÉ in the Republic of Ireland, across Europe and down under to Australia to celebrate this ornithological opera.
David and Claire, RSPB NI Conservation Team Leader, will broadcast from the RSPB’s Window on Wildlife reserve on the shores of Belfast Lough and will be listening out for both city songbirds and sea birds on the edge of the city, such as Swifts and Sedge Warblers just back from Africa, and for the beautiful fluting song of the Blackcaps - sometimes called the ‘Northern Nightingale’.
Following on from the success of last year’s link-up, BBC Radio Ulster will be joining RTÉ’s Derek Mooney and other broadcasters from across Europe live on air throughout the night.
This year’s Dawn Chorus programme runs from midnight until 7am offering listeners the chance to hear some fascinating conversation about the nature of birdsong, and the wonder of the chorus itself as our avian friends wake up across the continent.
David Maxwell said: “After the silence of winter, spring birdsong fills our hearts with joy. It builds as the hours of daylight increase into a great crescendo at the height of the season of new beginnings. Whether on a woodland walk or even just stepping out your backdoor, the treetop chorus puts a smile on your face.
“I’m delighted to be up with the lark – actually well before the lark - for this ambitious birdsong broadcast, in the company of expert Claire Barnett. I wonder who else will join us at the Window on Wildlife on the morning. I predict surprise guests and impromptu solos from world class choristers.”
Claire Barnett adds: “We’re so happy that our Belfast Window on Wildlife (WOW) reserve will be the Northern Ireland location for the Dawn Chorus programme. The reserve is nestled between the shipping port and Belfast City Airport but in a way it’s a real international airport for birds, with plenty of interesting arrivals! We should get to hear thrushes, Wrens, Sedge Warblers and Blackcaps – to name just a few - and then species that people can see from the WOW observatory window, including Coots, Moorhens and Common Terns. We can’t wait to compare the birdsong we hear to all the other dawn chorus locations in the rest of the UK and across Europe. The dawn chorus is one of nature’s great spectacles, so I’d really encourage everyone to tune into this fantastic programme if they can.”
So what is the Dawn Chorus?
This natural phenomenon which hails the start of a new day is at its peak at this time of year. In this programme, our experts will be on hand to help identify which birds can be heard amid the clamour and cacophony coming live from each location across Europe.
The dawn chorus is the collective sound of all the birds that sing at dawn. It usually refers to the sound made by woodland birds that sing during the breeding season between late March and the beginning of July, but it can also be heard in coastal and urban locations and travels east to west with the rising sun, a literal wave of sound across the face of the earth.
At its most simple it is a way for rival male birds (for it is the male of the species who sings in the majority of cases) to fight and resolve conflicts without directly coming to blows. It is also a way to impress and attract female birds – he who sings loudest and longest can claim more territory and in turn has a higher chance of finding a mate.
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