The Dawn Chorus
May 28, 2023 I By Katie Cox, Executive Director
Hello Birdie!
Open your doors, open your windows. The orchestra is back in town!
Do you hear them? They begin tuning their instruments at first light around 4:30 am. It starts with only a few and then rises to a full throated cacophony of beautiful birdsong. I have flung open our doors and lay in bed listening and wishing I could memorize just a few songs so I could know exactly what the bird that is waking me looks like, although I do imagine they are singing right to me.
Lazy head, lazy head, wake! It is time to get on with your day.
I love the idea of cataloguing the arrival of all the different members of the orchestra. My dad did this religiously every year. He would pull out this very large sheet of paper complete with all the necessary lines and he would methodically catalog the comings and goings of nature. His perfect penmanship and his beautiful chart always sucked me in. I think of that chart every year and wish I had started the same long ago. It would have told a beautiful story of my life, of the places we have lived and the nature that surrounded us.
Spring firsts document that Katie’s dad has meticulously cataloged since 1999.
Recently, Regan’s mom recommended a book to her. She was so excited about it that she took the initiative to call the East Bonner County Library and place it on hold for her so it would be ready for pickup on her drive home. After perusing the pages I understand why she was so taken by Amy Tan’s most recent book, The Backyard Bird Chronicles. In an attempt to find calm and resilience, Tan turned to the happenings in her backyard and began to discover the joy of birds.
“I recorded dramas happening in my yard in cartoon-like sketches. Each observation took me deeper into questions about what birds must do to survive. Birds also happen to be hilarious much of the time.”
I’ve also enjoyed the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Merlin Bird App. Sometimes I will grab my cup of tea, head out on our deck and turn the recording on the app and just watch the bird identifier work its magic. Who’s singing? Oh an Orange Crowned Warbler! A Warbling Vireo, a Spotted Towhee and a Brown-Headed Cowbird (now that is an unfortunate label). What a chorus! I feel like using this app is cheating a bit. I envy those of my friends that can just pick out the sound from memory. But, a girl can have goals.
Recording these sounds and the movement of nature can only bring us closer to the joys of what surrounds us in the outdoors. Spend some time this summer, listening and observing and let me know what brings you joy.
Cue the orchestra,
Katie
P.S. Want to learn more about the birds in our region? Join us for Birds and Burritos at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 7th at The Sled Hill for a bird identification walk with Audubon Society Member, and KLT Board member Rich Del Carlo. Space is limited. Sign up HERE.
