CRAVEN College countryside lecturer Nigel Labdon considers the joys of spring:

FOG spawn is hatching, trees are showing shades of green, hedgerows are full of blackthorn blossom, woods are alive with the smell of wild garlic and the sound of bird song, they are full of bluebells, lesser celandine and wood anemone - Yes spring is here!

On a recent field trip with a group of my students we ascended to the top of Ingleborough and despite the heavy mist/low cloud we were serenaded all the way down through fields of rough pasture by the delightful song of the skylarks.

These small brown birds (little brown jobs or LBJ’s in birdwatching parlance) mark their territories by ascending high in the sky and singing their song as they parachute back to earth on outstretched wings. When they are nesting they will run along the ground to some distance from the nest before flying up in the air and when they land they will land a distance away from the nest before scurrying through the undergrowth back to their nest. This means that predators cannot track where the nest is by where the bird flies from or lands.

One of my favourite things to do at this time of year is get up before dawn and just sit quietly in a woodland. Light gradually creeps into the sky and with the smell of the wild garlic all around begins one of nature’s most extraordinary events - the dawn chorus.

The first song you will hear will invariably be the blackbird, followed by the thrushes, robins and wrens, finally the warblers, tits, finches and dunnocks (or hedge sparrows) join in to create a symphony of sound that far and away out competes any man made symphony. What better way is there to refresh the soul than to spend an hour simply sitting and listening to natures music? It may take some endeavour on your part but believe me it is well worth the effort. Try it just once and you will be hooked for life!

The question that has puzzled scientists is why do birds sing like this just before and during dawn?

After many years of research, the answers are gradually becoming clear and as with most things in the natural world there is more than one answer.

Night time is a dangerous time for songbirds, many predators are abroad including owls, foxes, cats, stoats, weasels etc. and so first thing in the morning the birds sing to advertise to their neighbours (and competitors) that they have survived the night and that they are still in charge of this territory and enter my territory at your peril

The twilight at dawn is not a good time to go foraging as the birds cannot see their prey, so what better time to try to attract a mate by your song. Singing takes a lot of energy and so the fittest birds sing longest and loudest. These fit strong birds will obviously be the best mate.

If the dim light of dawn is not a good time for these birds to go foraging it is also not a good time for predators such as sparrowhawks to go hunting as they also cannot see their prey well, so it is a good time for song birds to advertise their presence.

In the damp still air of the early morning, sound travels extremely well (up to 20 times further than later in the day) so therefore the song travels further and can attract potential mates from further afield. This time is also quieter with most noisy animal on the planet (yes that is us!) still tucked up in bed fast asleep.

So why do the blackbirds and thrushes sing first well the truth of the matter is worms! Worms are a highly nutritious food and often come to the surface at night and disappear down their burrows at day break, so if the blackbirds and thrushes get their singing over and done with before it is light enough to see the worms they can take the easy pickings of the worms on the surface as soon as it is light enough to see them. It really is a case of ‘the early bird catches the worm’.

The birds that join the chorus later tend to either feed on seeds or on caterpillars and insects which require the warmth of the day to warm their bodies before they become active and so these birds do not have to get up quite so early.

As the true daylight arrives the songs gradually diminish in both frequency and volume and as I wend my way back through the woods towards a welcome cup of tea (and perhaps an bacon sandwich) I am greeted by a plethora of wild flowers such as wild garlic, wood anemone, lesser celandine, bluebell etc. These flowers that live under the forest canopy have to flower early in the year so that the insects (butterflies, bumble bees and beetles) that will pollinate them can find them before the leaves of the trees fully open and plunge them into eternal gloom. Growing early in the year also means that their leaves can makes the most of the available light to store food underground ready to spring up again next year.

If you really cannot get out of your bed early in the morning for one day of the year, then all is not quite lost as there a repeat performance at dusk. This is a somewhat more protracted and quieter affair than the dawn chorus but it is still well worth listening to and you will be impressed by the range of songs on offer and it may just inspire you to reset your alarm clock to get up and hear the real thing. You will not regret it.