Woken by birdsong...at 3am

[Reg Smeeton]

OK, this makes a change from police sirens and the other common night time disturbances in East Dulwich.

For the last few nights I've become aware of birdsong at night. On Sunday it was around 11pm as I went to bed. Since then, it's started at around 3am, with two birds exchanging varied, mellifluous chirps for about 15 minutes (and then, intermittently for the next hour). One of the birds is very close, maybe on our roof.

Birdsong is generally a lovely sound to wake up to, but I have to say it isn't quite so appealing when it wakes you at 3am. I've lived in East Dulwich for years and can't remember this ever happening before.

A quick search on the Web suggests it might be robins, which are apparently easily triggered to wake by artificial light. But why's it just started happening? Nothing's changed in the lighting around here.

Can anyone shed any light (no pun intended) on this mystery?

[singalto]

I have noticed a robin chatting and singing during the night but only if I happen to be awake. Are you sure the bird is waking you rather than you not being in deep sleep? I really enjoy hearing it as a delightful change from planes!

[Tallulahdoesthehula]

I had this happen last year, there are birds that sing at night (according to Google).

Happened a few times and then stopped.

[Medusa]

I've also noticed an increase in this recently.

[Ruskin]

They might be reacting to local cats stalking nests although there's usually a tone of distress, rather than birdsong.

[Earl Aelfheah]

The street lights in ED are ridiculously bright. They were upgraded a few years back and now everywhere if floodlit. It's not great for birds. light pollution isn't taken that seriously unfortunately. If you walk around Dulwich Village and surrounding streets, it's lovely at night - their streets largely still have the old, yellow lamps... it actually feels like nighttime.

[JohnL]

Isn't it Robin mating season :)

Edit: I mean - it's singing to attract a mate.

[puzzle007]

Maybe you just haven't heard it before because you have been asleep but the birds sing every night about that time it's nothing new I'm awake a lot during the night and it's a beautiful sound.

[TheArtfulDogger]

JohnL Wrote:

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> Isn't it Robin mating season :)

>

> Edit: I mean - it's singing to attract a mate.

Shhhhhs, don't tell batman 😳

[BrandNewGuy]

JohnL Wrote:

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> Isn't it Robin mating season :)

>

> Edit: I mean - it's singing to attract a mate.

At this time of year, it's mainly territorial singing between males. Mating season is when it warms up a bit :-) You can also hear great tits singing and calling through the night ? and blackbirds start singing very early too.

It's likely to become a more widespread phenomenon according to the theory that a male bird who can sing when others are roosting is 'showing off' his stamina and strength and thus makes himself look like a more desirable mate. A bit like dancing for hours and hours at a Northern Soul night...

[kford]

Goldfinches. Saw/heard them in the tree top outside my house the other morning at 5am.

[Louisa]

I think the sound of birdsong is lovely. I've noticed in recent years the return of so much wildlife to this city and it's a joy to see. Also, slightly side, I was in Dulwich park recently and saw parrots in the trees! Was I imagining this?

Louisa.

[rendelharris]

Not parrots, parakeets, but you weren't dreaming, they're all over London now.

[kford]

The ring-necked parakeet has been here since the late '50s.

Rumour has it that they are all descended from a flock that was released onto the set of the African Queen when it was being filmed on the back lot at Shepperton studios.

[nxjen]

The story I heard was that Jimi Hendrix wanted to release a white dove for peace but as there wasn't one to hand he released a green parakeet instead.

[i*Rate]

We used to have some very noisy (early) blackbirds in our gardens, some years ago now.

There was one that we nicknamed 'Joey' that had a great, loud tune that he had learnt somewhere or other - as they do.

Annoying in a way, but a very beautiful thing to experience.

Sadly, no blackbirds now, just the racket at 4.45am of the first batch of airliners grinding in before the daily 6am to 11.00pm roaring flypast.

Ho Hum.

[rendelharris]

The first pair of breeding London parakeets was actually spotted in 1855 and they've been notably increasing since the 1930s (which is kind of a shame as I wanted either the African Queen or Hendrix stories to be true). They used to be more on the outskirts - Richmond Park, Bushy Park (I can remember playing cricket in Bushy Park in the '90s where the groundsman had to brush the wicket clear of parakeet droppings before play, there were that many) but seem to be everywhere now.

[Louisa]

Thanks for that rendal. Interesting. I wonder if they came here on a boat with goods from the empire? Many ships on the Thames at this time bringing exotic items from the four corners of the globe. Or perhaps an early sign of global warming? This was right at the end of the British Isles "little ice age", which saw severe winters for a good 300 years or so. The warming effects would easily attract wildlife from further out. Interesting they're only in the south east of England and not elsewhere. We are statistically the warmest region of England.

Louisa.

[adonirum]

It's fabulous that there are so many species of birds in London now.

Beats just having sparrows and pigeons, which is how it seemed to be years ago.

[Caro9429]

Yes, we have beautiful green parakeets in our trees. They can be a bit loud I suppose.

Something for the cat to fantasise about catching, thankfully she's too clumsy to do so.

[JohnL]

i*Rate Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> We used to have some very noisy (early) blackbirds

> in our gardens, some years ago now.

>

> There was one that we nicknamed 'Joey' that had a

> great, loud tune that he had learnt somewhere or

> other - as they do.

> Annoying in a way, but a very beautiful thing to

> experience.

>

> Sadly, no blackbirds now, just the racket at

> 4.45am of the first batch of airliners grinding in

> before the daily 6am to 11.00pm roaring flypast.

>

> Ho Hum.

Remember when they started copying the Nokia ring tones :(

[BrandNewGuy]

adonirum Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> It's fabulous that there are so many species of

> birds in London now.

>

> Beats just having sparrows and pigeons, which is

> how it seemed to be years ago.

On Green Dale fields, I've counted 41 different bird species. Many parts of Greater London have a richer variety of wildlife than some of the more monoculture 'countryside' surrounding it.

[Hilja]

I'd always understood that the original breeding pair of ring-necked parakeets escaped from a private aviary in Richmond but I didn't know it was that long ago, rendelharris, so it seems they're pretty much native now.

There are two pairs that visit my garden feeders every day - one pair an adult male (they have a pink ring round their necks > their other name, rose-ringed parakeet) with a female, I'm guessing (females and juveniles don't have rings), and the other pair an adult female (probably) accompanied by a smaller version without the long turquoise tail. I suspect they're mother and offspring as the bigger one seems quite solicitous of the smaller one - but I'm probably anthropomorphising?

They're surprisingly quiet, considering the racket they make in the parks. Probably don't want to alert the rest of the flock to their secret food supply. They love black sunflower seeds and fat balls but eat quite slowly and carefully, not what I would have expected, and spend a lot of time just perched on the washing line looking at what's going on around them or doing acrobatics, apparently to amuse themselves. The other birds in the garden don't seem to be affected by them, in fact I saw a great spotted woodpecker feeding just a couple of feet away from one of them a couple of weeks ago. I also saw two blue tits dive-bombing a parakeet on their favourite feeder, but none of them seemed too bothered and they all got what they wanted in the end.

The smallest parakeet likes to sit on a branch by the kitchen window and watch me doing the washing up, with its beady orange eyes and head cocked to one side.