I like to pick a day in early May as my dawn-chorus day. Four-thirty in the morning finds me shivering and listening to the assembled avian orchestra. All that I can discern, muting the mighty twittering, are two Cuckoos, four Thrushes and a Chiffchaff.

Our Chiffchaff, bored with the endless grind of chiff and chaff, has developed a technique of stereophonic singing: he has become a racing chiffchaff. With the notes of his song having barely escaped his beak, he has bolted to the next perch on his circuit and started afresh. There is no pause, no interlude, just a sound storm.

I used to think that I had several Chiffchaffs, but I am now I am sure that there is only one. He seems to be laying claim to an area of approximately five acres. I hope that he is not neglecting his more intimate duties in the quest for territorial aggrandizement.

There seems to be a trend for him to arrive earlier and leave later: in 2009 I heard him sing from Late March through until October.

                                 The Swepstone Coppice Racing Chiffchaff

First sighting   - 2007

Highest weekly counts:

2007                1

2008                1

2009                2

2010                4 (2/4/10).

2011                3 (19/3 - first call)