Dawn Chorus at Porth Reservoir
6th May 2006, Porth Reservoir, nr Newquay
Early Birds at Porth Reservoir
The dawn chorus, Nature’s spring concert of bird song, was the reason 15 people gathered at 5am at Porth Reservoir near Newquay on Saturday May 6th. They were greeted by clear skies with Venus prominent in the west, bats swooping over the lake and tawny owls exchanging hoots. The chorus started with a robin solo but it quickly became difficult to pick out individual contributions with up to 14 different species singing at once. The event was organized and led by Peter McGregor of Duchy College and Nige Curnow of South West Lakes Trust. It was one of the world-wide activities marking International Dawn Chorus Day 2006. Participants came from all over the county, some travelling from St. Dominick in the east and from Marazion in the west. But the real travellers were some of the performers; with chiffchaffs, sedge and willow warblers migrating from sub-Saharan Africa to breed at Porth and join the resident blackbirds, chaffinches and great tits in the dawn chorus. This concert of bird song is free and will be happening near you for the next few weeks. The only catch is that you need to be an early riser – the dawn chorus starts about 45 minutes before sunrise every day. Not to be missed!
For more details on IDCD 2006 click here or the image below
