Get ready to immerse yourself in the enchanting world of bird song as we explore the vibrant avian melodies that begin to fill the air in February. Discover how the voices of song thrushes, blackbirds, and robins evolve from gentle whispers to powerful serenades, and learn to distinguish the unique calls of various tit species.
Join us on February 2nd for an in-depth look at the fascinating behaviours and songs of our feathered friends as they prepare for the arrival of spring. Don't miss this captivating journey into the heart of nature's winter symphony!
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Bird song
Outside April, when most of our summer visitors arrive, the greatest increase in bird song occurs in February, mostly towards the end of the month. Last month most birds were only giving their voices gentle exercise, tuning up and indulging in snatches of sub-song or isolated scolding calls. Now their voices are slowly gaining in strength and complexity. There are new sub-songs, contact calls, call notes, flight calls, whisper songs, alarm calls and various other croonings.
Both mavis and merle i.e. songthrush and blackbird, are singing more. February essentially belongs to thrushes, with blackbirds taking over as the month progresses. The songthrush is one of the few birds which will also sing at night, like the robin. His song is always easily identified due to its repetition of phrases already described. He also sings in bad weather like missel thrushes. In February, songthrushes also tend to croon at dusk rather than produce their full song, which will come later.
The songs of missel thrush and blackbird are often confused and now is a good time to learn how to tell them apart. Compared with the loud, wild quality of the missel thrush, the blackbird produces a much more subdued song. It is variously described as “rich, mellow, effortless and always relaxed, with a slightly sad quality”. It has distinct pauses, unlike most other birds, and occasionally finishes with one or two shrill notes. As to when blackbirds commence singing, this varies a good deal and doesn’t necessarily follow a patch of good weather. They can be heard as early as the second week of January or as late as the first week of March, but generally late February is when you start to notice them.
In gardens, male robins continue to hold sway, singing aggressively, almost seeming to inhale in an effort to produce as much noise as possible for as long as possible. The female, who has been singing to herself all winter, is now content to listen to her suitors competing for her attention. Beginners often have problems identifying the song as it is so varied and changes so much compared with other birds. Luckily, robins tend to pick low perches, where they can be seen. They are probably the most commonly heard bird at this time. Robins sing every month of the year, except July and perhaps part of August when they are moulting.
The song itself is described as having some melodious phrases, always some clear notes, but overall a rather blurred quality. Many listeners refer to the song as also having a melancholic quality, although still being full of feeling and yet delivered with some intensity. The best way to become acquainted with this most enjoyable of winter sounds is to see the bird, listen carefully and identify and learn the characteristics just described.
The ‘see saw’ call of the great tit, with its distinct, metronome quality and the three note ‘take-tea-ttttoo’ call of the blue tit were the two tit calls most noticed last month. The great tit is usually heard first, then the blue tit and now, in February, the coal tit joins in. In conifer woodland, or perhaps even just near a group of conifers, the coal tit has started his ‘me-too, me-too’ call. It can be distinguished from the similar great tit’s call, being higher in pitch and faster. Further out of town in places like Ranmore Common and Selsdon Wood the rarer marsh tit is given away by his unique sneezing ‘pee-choo’ call. This call is quite loud and distinctly repeated.
Bands of long-tailed tits are moving through trees together, keeping in contact with each other with their quiet ‘see-see-see-see-see’ calls. Collectively, they are said to sound like rain on leaves. Certainly, their calls are sometimes quiet enough to be missed, but once identified the listener is always rewarded by one of the most attractive sights of the month. These troops of pink-breasted long-tailed tits are now commonly seen moving through gardens even in central London.
The flock is made up of parents, young, aunts and uncles, the whole band being closely related. As the light fails they all move to one of their favoured roosting sites. This is often a scrubby area, perhaps covered in ivy, in a quieter part of a wood. Here, if the weather is cold, they huddle up to each other often in a row to keep warm. The dominant males come to the roost last generally squabbling a little for the best position on the branch. If you follow a flock regularly at twilight you can get to know their favourite roosting sites. Then, with a little patience and silence, eventually they will start to tolerate your presence enough for you to see perhaps the most charming spectacle of the entire month.
