Birdsong is thought of as a spring phenomenon and that is indeed the time of year when birds sing most often, and for longer periods. Yet the short days of December and January are frequently accompanied by the sound of a robin, whose delicate, tuneful song can be heard throughout the winter months.
In recent years, a run of mild winters has led to other species joining in. Wrens can be heard delivering their loud, energetic bursts of song, while Cetti’s warblers sing their equally explosive refrain during most months of the year.
On one warm, sunny day in December 2015, I heard no fewer than seven different songsters, with dunnocks, song thrushes, goldcrests and chiffchaffs joining those usual suspects. That day a yellow-browed warbler – a scarce visitor from Siberia – also occasionally uttered its distinctive call.
Yet during the cold spell in early January this year, I noticed that although robins were still in full song, all those other species had fallen temporarily silent. Even the wrens in my garden had stopped singing, while down on my local patch, the usually voluble Cetti’s warblers were equally conspicuous by their absence.
It reminded me of the cold, snowy winters of my 1960s childhood, when the robin was the only winter songster I ever heard. No doubt, as soon as the temperatures rise, the others will join the chorus once again, building towards the full orchestra of spring.
