Dawn Chorus in January?

Once again the seasons are changing.

If you listen closely at dawn, the birds are singing like it is May!

Last year we had downpours of rain in Springtime and the birds and animals were caught out with disastrous results on the young. This year we have a mild start to the new year and the Daffodils and Snowdrops are well on their way up, but it is the first time I have heard such a dawn chorus in January.

Some birds like the Blackbirds are already pairing up and that is not too unusual, but the smaller birds are singing so they can attract a mate and that is not so good, because if we have a cold snap they will be caught out of sequence so to speak, this may well mean they are too early to create a nest and start a family, so if the cold comes in late Spring then they will already have young ones and they will not be prepared for the consequences of the cold weather. They will recover by getting in an extra brood later in the year, but they will have used a great deal of energy in the early part of the year and they will need our help to gain back that energy usage, they will need to eat as much energy creating food as possible.

It's not only the birds that may get caught out, Hedgehogs will come out of hibernation early and will be away from their homes and will need extra food for energy to help them get around and find a new place to nest down in.

So, although it is lovely to hear the dawn chorus early (and the birds do sound beautiful in the mornings) there is a threat to them that we should be aware of and if cold or sustained wet weather come along then we should be prepared with extra food for our garden friends.