Dawn Chorus Walk at Hendre Lake Sat 10th May 2025 5:15 am - 7:15 am

"

What is the dawn chorus?

" The dawn chorus is the symphony of song performed by birds looking for love, and to defend their patch. In spring, as the days lengthen, wildlife starts to think about the need to breed. By mid-March lots of our resident birds are in full song and in mid-April, the riot of sound is in full effect as millions of migrant birds pour back in from Africa to their summer homes. In early May the chorus is at its peak ! "

We had a brilliant morning for our Dawn Chorus Walk at Hendre Lake. A big thank you to our member Lee for leading the walk and sharing all his knowledge about the birds we were listening to. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed it and we learnt more about our feathered friends. 23 of us met early to be present to enjoy all the birds singing for the dawn chorus alongside the Park Rangers. Lee identified the birds by their songs and various calls and shared lots of interesting facts about them throughout the morning. We've been lucky to hear a range of beautiful birds, most are local residents but some are visiting us for the summer.

We heard Blackbirds, Song Thrushes, Wrens, Chiff Chaffs, Robins, Reed Warblers, Cetti's Warblers, Long Tailed Tits, Blackcaps, Common Whitethroats, Great Tits, Dunnocks, Goldcrests, Golfinches, Starling chicks, House Sparrows, Green Finches and a Sedge Warbler. We also saw a Grey Heron, Cormorant, Wood pigeons, Blue Tits, Swallows, Collared Doves and a pair of Great Crested Grebes. Also, a good number of Small Tortoiseshell Caterpillars feeding on nettle.

It was a beautiful morning listening to the birds whilst watching the sun rise at our beloved Hendre Lake. We've all learnt lots about these birds and enjoyed it so much, we began thinking about next years walk! Thanks again to Lee and our Park Ranger for organising and leading the event. Thank you to our volunteer member Michael for many photos too.