Everywhere is closed except for supermarkets. Everything has been cancelled or 'postponed' while we hide from Covid-19. Brockley Max has been postponed until August ('fingers crossed'). The BrocSoc Midsummer Fayre has been postponed until autumn ('hopefully'). And now to top it all the Friends of Hilly Fields Dawn Chorus Walk has been cancelled. Not postponed. Not resting. Cancelled. It is an ex-walk. There is no dawn chorus to be heard in August or autumn - it's a thing of the spring. But if we're very, very lucky, we might be able to hold one next year.
The Lane
The good news is that the birds are still singing. The residents such as Blackbird, Robin, Song Thrush and Wren can be heard every day on Hilly Fields and have been joined by the usual spring migrant warblers - Blackcap and Chiffchaff. And even more good news, we seem to have a resident pair of Nuthatches who've been seen and heard regularly over the last few weeks. Hopefully, they will nest in the park. So why not go up there on your daily exercise walk and have a listen? It doesn't have to be at dawn, but morning is the best time. A good place to hear the warblers is the lane that runs into the park from Eastern Road with all the trees on either side and the little wood beside it.
If you fancy learning a few bird songs to while away the time, there are loads of recordings on You Tube and the RSPB's website has audio recordings of all British birds along with identification features. A good one to start with is the Chiffchaff which has a simple repetitive song of staccato notes as per above. It's unforgettable. Listen to it on the web, then listen to it on Hilly Fields, but hurry. In the last two years, it hasn't hung around for very long. After that, you can try the more varied and melodious songs of the Blackcap and Song Thrush. Good luck and don't forget the social distancing! I'm going back into my bunker now.
