Ready for Spring
Monday, 16th March 2015
The years first Bumble Bee bounces around the Mahonia flowers, and its buzzing is an accompanies an increasing variety of birdsong.
The Robins have never stopped singing throughout the wintriest days and even nights, but they sing a whistful winter tune. Also,sometimes, they chunter away very softly from deep inside a thick bush. It is a soft jumbly sound, a twitter if you like, much less “clean” and clear than a Robin’s normal voice. This is known as a sub-song.
Blackbirds also have a sub song , incredibly subdued compared with the big bold melodies they deliver from treetops and rooves. Like the Robins , Blackbirds also hide away in thick cover when they are sub singing. They are not easy to spot, but if you do, look as well as listen, and you may notice something very surprising: they don’t open their beaks! Neither does a Robin, but the flow of sweet tweeting is not interrupted. It is sort of their equivalent of our humming softly, before we open our mouths and really let rip!
Written by Bill Oddie