Sunrise at Garreg Ddu woodland in the Elan Valley
This is my favourite spot in the whole of the Elan Valley. It's a mixed, ancient woodland consisting mainly of oak, birch, and beech with a variety of other trees and low growing shrubs such as bilberry. It's in a quiet location away from major roads (& sheep pasture!), and the almost vertical hillside opposite gives the acoustic a lovely ambience.
At 5.30am local time on a clear, chilly morning, and a good couple of hours before the sun finally makes its way over the opposite hill (as in the photo above), the first birds have started to sing. First, a lone Redstart, and now, Blackcap (I think), Robin & Cuckoo join in. Gradually the chorus builds, with the almost continuous repeated phrases of a Song-thrush starting up at around 3 minutes. At 7 minutes a Wren appears with its rapid and complex high pitched song, and shortly afterwards the unmistakable sound of a Cuckoo, that classical harbinger of spring.
Thereafter, the chorus thickens, and it's not possible to accurately identify many of the singers, but I can make out the hoots of a distant Tawny Owl, the "chip chip chip" of a Blackbird and, at about 15 minutes, the grating call of a Mistle Thrush. The chorus reaches its climax before a brief flurry of activity from a couple of Canada Geese on the lake opposite. Finally, we hear a few bursts of drumming from a Great-spotted Woodpecker, with the recording reaching the end just as a Willow Warbler strikes up its gently lilting song.
Recorded: 2017-04-23 0530...
Location: 52.2719 -3.5961
Download full recording:
31min, 49MB, .ogg format
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