This can be a very difficult time of year for those who like to sleep late in the morning. The dawn chorus of birds can start as early at 4:30 a.m. and continue well into the morning hours. Even those of us humans who are early risers don’t usually set the alarm for that hour! So, what is all the noise about anyway?

Nesting season for birds here in southern New England and The Last Green Valley is from mid-April until early August or approximately 100-125 days. During the pre-dawn hours, nesting birds, especially the males, are very lively and sing louder than during the day.  Foraging for insects, worms, or seeds will wait until full daylight so the birds take the pre-dawn time to announce their territories and let prospective mates know their whereabouts.

My wife and I are fortunate that our property is surrounded by a variety of habitats that support many bird species. We have open fields, a tall canopy of large trees, thick forests, and early (successional) forest habitat all within 100-200 yards of our house. The variety of habitats in turn provides a variety of foods that our regional bird species favor.

During the spring, summer, and fall season, a typical day for us includes visits by a wide variety of birds. Like many folks I know, I enjoy the Cornell Lab for Ornithology free Merlin app that I have downloaded to my cell phone. On the morning of April 27^th over a five-minute recording time, Merlin recorded 16 birds, including Purple Finch, Mourning Dove, Tufted Titmouse, Baltimore Oriole, Northern Cardinal, House Finch, Chipping Sparrow, Northern Mockingbird, American Robin, White-throated Sparrow, Carolina Wren, Worm-eating Warbler, Song Sparrow, Golden-crowned Kinglet and Red-winged Blackbird. Other frequent avian neighbors not recorded that morning include Eastern Bluebird, Black-capped Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Wood Thrush, Veery, Phoebe, Red Breasted, Downy and Hairy Woodpecker, House Sparrow, House Wren and Gold Finch. Most days include a fly-over by a few Crows and from time-to-time, Red-tailed, Coopers and Red-shouldered Hawk will land in one of the trees surrounding our back pasture, scanning the field for rabbits, mice or voles.

Starting around 4:30 a.m., sometimes as early as 4:00 a.m. – long before the sun begins to peek over the eastern tree line – we’ll hear the first songs of our avian alarm clock. Robins are usually the first to call and, often, one of the last to sing at dusk. Following the robin is a cacophony of many of the birds mentioned earlier.

One of the more interesting morning callers is a bird that I don’t think nests near our house. American Crows are usually seen in groups called a “murder” of crows. We seem to have four or five that alight in a tree near the house to croak their cawing call as if intentionally “murdering” our morning sleep. They only stay long enough to announce their presence, before flying off to our neighbor’s house to repeat their wake-up call.

As the day wears on and the sun moves over the western tree line, the approaching dusk brings quiet to the yard and fields. During those dusky minutes I hear the Northern Cardinal – usually a single male singing his goodnight call from the treetops. Off in the distance I’ll hear a response from another cardinal as if saying, “oh yah, well you better stay over there because this is my territory” and then even further away, if I strain my ears, I’ll hear a third cardinal responding in turn. It is as if the cardinal is one voice in a chorus of cardinals, each separated by a few hundred yards, and each sending out their goodnight songs over the landscape.

If I am very lucky, I’ll hear the evening fluted call of the Wood Thrush and sometimes the Hermit Thrush. No music is sweeter to my ear than the elusive tune from the thrush. The ethereal song usually comes from deeper woods and out of sight.

With windows open to the summer breeze, we’ll sit and enjoy the early evening, and just as the dark replaces the last bits of light, we’ll hear the robin call again as if to say “good night, yes I am still here, all is well, it has been a fine day, I’ll see you in the morning.”

We are very fortunate to live in a region rich in bird life. Here in The Last Green Valley, the songs of nature are all around us. One needs only to tune our ears to the melodies, to learn the lyrics of each song, and to enjoy the choir of each and every day.