Countryman's Diary
| NORTH YORKSHIRE |  | | | CLEVELAND | | | COUNTY DURHAM | | |
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Birdsong – melodious and relaxing, or just a godawful racket?
SOME years ago, someone
asked me if I thought
birds enjoyed singing.
Today, another person
has asked me the same imponderable
question. If we think
carefully about that query, it is almost
impossible to answer because
the first questions must
surely be: What constitutes bird
song? And secondly, why do they
sing?
Does the harsh cawing of a rook
or a crow qualify as a song? Or
what about the distinctive and
repetitive sound of a cuckoo? Or
the squawking of a herring gull?
Now consider the mewing of a
buzzard or the hooting of an owl?
Or maybe the persistent chirp of
house sparrows? Then we might
think of a hen cackling after she
lays an egg, the quack of ducks
beside a village pond, the warning
cries of geese, the honking of
a pheasant or the warning call of
a grouse.
Can such a variety of sounds be
considered genuine bird song?
Many of these examples are far
from being considered musical.
Most of us will regard bird song
as something musical and melodious
that produces the kind of
delights delivered by a thrush or
blackbird, or perhaps a robin,
wren, skylark or nightingale. At
this time of year, we should be
hearing the famous dawn chorus,
a melody of songs produced by
different species as the sun rises
in the sky and dawn lightens the
horizon.
Now, of course, we must ask ourselves
whether the birds enjoy
producing that kind of music. Is it
fun for them, or can it be nothing
more than a mere and rather boring
routine?
The fact is that birdsong is a form
of communication that identifies
species while also attracting a
mate, defining the boundaries of
a territory or proclaiming one's
superiority over others of one's
same species.
In other words, it is a very powerful
means of communication that
is perhaps not so musical to the
birds as it is to the ears of mere
humans. It is also a very potent
message to other birds that might
be rivals - in other words, it
warns them to keep away.
What this means, of course, is
that birds sing for a very specific
reason and that reason is not
merely to entertain the human
race. They sing or produce other
distinctive sounds as a means of
conveying important messages to
one another, but whether that is
an enjoyable process is open to
debate. Quite possibly, it is a very
necessary element of their survival
with the birds using their
voices to inform their companions
of the whereabouts of food,
shelter or danger.
During migration, it might be a
means of the leader notifying
others of the route, the duration
of the flight or an approaching area for rest and refreshment. It
might also be a rallying call if the
leader senses others are tiring,
becoming bored or if danger
threatens.
At this time of year, as we listen to
the dawn chorus, we can remind
ourselves of the sheer numbers
and differing species of birds that
make up that impressive morning
choir.
It is the time our native birds
greet the morning sun and welcome
the day ahead, and they do
so on our behalf, even if we do
not ask that of them. Within the
music, of course, there may be
threats and challenges.
It is difficult to know whether that
music has any effect upon the
animal life around us or whether
we, as humans, are the only creatures
to truly enjoy and appreciate
the musical aspects of their
songs. Even if they do enjoy it, we
can never understand the concealed
messages that are being
delivered in the mystical notes
that have been repeated over the
centuries.
This brings me back to the original
question - do birds really
enjoy singing or is it nothing
more than routine?
CONTINUING the theme of
birds, I noticed a stranger
attending our bird feeder
this week. It was prominent
among the others such as the
blue tits, great tits and green
finches because it was a small
bird with grey plumage and a
very distinctive black cap.
Certain possibilities came to
mind such as the willow tit and
marsh tit, both of whom have attended
feast days in our garden
and, instinctively, I knew that it
was neither of those. The colours
were not right and its deportment
on the feeder did not indicate an
agile member of the tit family.
Some people mistake the great tit
for another of those who wear a
black cap but this was not a great
tit, neither was it anything like a
stonechat or brambling.
After watching it for a few minutes,
I decided it was a blackcap
which is a member of the warbler
family and one that usually arrives
in late April or early May, although
some individuals might
decide to spend the winter here if
it is especially mild.
The dreadful east winds of April
must have persuaded this charming
member of the warbler family
not to visit England until the
weather had warmed the landscape
to provide insects for its
food, but there it was, visiting our
garden where I hope it found a
few grubs and early flies despite
the cruel east wind that was
blowing.
The blackcap is not particularly
rare but it is rather unobtrusive
and shy. Its female partner has a
light brown cap which, when
combined with her rather dull
grey plumage, makes her almost
invisible among the shrubs and
undergrowth which is perhaps
why we think these birds are
scarce. Shy and quiet, they are
members of the great family of
warblers that includes the garden
warbler, willow warbler, sedge
warbler, chiff chaff and others
who visit this country during the
summer months.
I suspect the object of my sighting
might have arrived rather too
early this year, although blackcaps
have been known to spend
the winter in the warmer regions
of our south-western countryside.
ANOTHER startling return to
our garden this week was a
visitor we had welcomed
about four years ago. When I
opened the kitchen curtains, I
saw a massive hawk clambering
over a conifer in our neighbour's
garden.
The conifer had been trimmed to
a smooth rounded shape and the
hawk was climbing over the top
using its beak and feet for leverage,
rather like a parrot might do
when clambering around a cage.
It appeared to be very interested in the internal regions of that
dense conifer, and I wondered if
there was nest in there, perhaps
belonging to a blackbird or
thrush.
I realised it was far larger than a
sparrow hawk which it resembled
very closely despite its size; indeed,
it was bigger than a wood
pigeon and at such close quarters,
I could see its barred breast,
grey plumage on its wings and
back, and its distinctive white eye
stripe. It spent some time exploring
the depths of that conifer and
then I lost sight of it.
The birds in our garden knew it
was around and there was a
mighty commotion as it continued
its exploration of the conifer,
but it was soon evident that this
visitor was a goshawk. We had
one in our garden about four
years ago almost to the day, and I
think both visitors had come
from a nearby coniferous forest
but each was surprisingly calm in
the proximity of houses and cars.
That made me wonder if both
were the same bird that had earlier
escaped from a falconry.
Although I maintained a close
watch on that conifer, I did not
see the departure of that special
visitor and wonder whether it
found what it was seeking. I did
contemplate that it might have
been seeking a nesting site but
saw no evidence of a companion,
but it does seem likely that it was
the same bird that graced our
garden four years ago. After all,
there are not many goshawks
around in my small patch of England.
2:21pm Friday 9th May 2008
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