Nature Diary: Calling all dawn chorus watchers

Over the next few weeks, birdwatching enthusiasts will be rising very early in the morning to head out to listen to the dawn chorus. Birds sing all year round, but they are particularly loud in May during bird nesting season.

“It’s the male birds who do the singing in most species except the robin, where both male and female birds sing,” says Niall Hatch of Birdwatch Ireland.

Various branches of Birdwatch Ireland – including South Dublin, Clare and Cork – will host early morning events over the next few weekends. Broadcaster Derek Mooney and his team at RTÉ Radio 1/RTÉ Lyrcic FM – together with BBC Radio Wales – will celebrate birdsong from midnight until 7am on Sunday, May 5th. Elsewhere, the National Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin, Dublin, will host a dawn chorus event on Sunday, May 26th at 5am.

See Birdwatchireland.ie and botanicgardens.ie for more details