West Horsley resident, professional nature expert with Surrey Wildlife Trust and friend of West Horsley Place, Mike Waite, spent the early hours of Sunday morning 3rd May recording birdsong in the woods at West Horsley Place to celebrate International Dawn Chorus Day. Mike has created an audio record for us all to enjoy and below explains and identifies highlights from the calls you will hear:

For National Dawn Chorus Day on Sunday 3^rd May, I set the alarm early to capture the avian concerto ensemble from Lollesworth Wood on the West Horsley Place estate. Here it is, 50 minutes worth from around 05:00am. The pre-dawn crescendo quickly builds from at least an hour before sunrise and is made up primarily of Blackbirds, Wrens, Song thrushes and Robins, reflecting the comparative abundance of these species in the English lowland countryside. We come in at the height and there is a detectable decline in its vigour throughout the recording. Once inside the wood, various foreground soloists make a bid for the spotlight as we proceed through the track. The explosive burst of a Wren opens proceedings; an amazing volume from such a tiny bird. At 00:51, a Robin starts up. It’s considered, wistful phrasing can often be heard well after dark, especially in the vicinity of street lighting. The double bark of a Pheasant first features at 00:37 and is repeated regularly thereafter. The deep cooing of a Woodpigeon is heard at 04:33. A Great tit begins variations of its monotonous rapid see-sawing call following 05:00. A Carrion Crow caws repeatedly at 15:19. The sharp keck-kecking of a Great Spotted Woodpecker comes in around 13:00, while a Roe Deer seemingly clears its throat at 15:53/59. Following several previous far-off announcements, the raucous “yaffling” of a Green Woodpecker is first returned from close-by at 18.48. At around 32:00 a distant Canada Goose can be heard calling. Later, a Song Thrush picks up clearly from around 35:00 and carries through to the end; it’s simple, typically thrice-repeated notes often features mimicry of other birds such as Nuthatch and even Tawny Owl. Finally, the dry machine-gun rattling of Magpies is heard from around 46:15. While a lone overflying plane intrudes at 39:00, the ever-present noise from the M25 slowly builds towards the end too. Please be my guest and enjoy the concert, perhaps as a background ambient soundscape whilst working at home in these access-restricted times...

Mike Waite