From the whistle of a curlew to the secret, intimate sounds birds make when laying their eggs, enjoy the magical chorus of the UK countryside in spring.
With longer days, and warmer weather, British springtime resounds with a beautiful chorus. This is when bumble bees begin to buzz and wrens and robins burst into their noisy courtship song.
Out in the countryside, you can hear foxes barking, pheasants chinking, and, if you're lucky, curlews whistling and lapwing's sounding out their distinctive 'pee-wit' calls. At night, there are frogs croaking and the amazing warbling of tawny owls as they try to attract a mate. Add to this the migrant birds returning from their winters abroad and the skies are full of each species' distinctive calls. Like the famous cuckoo call, once lauded as the heralder of spring.
Some sounds are familiar to us all. But my cameras mean I also record the secret sounds of spring. Those few have ever heard. These include the soft whickering of courting stoats and the extraordinary, rasping groan a swan makes as it lays its eggs. There's also the pf-eep sound a kingfisher makes just before it lays a bright, white egg and the 'whistle' of my resident tawny owl Luna as she seemingly celebrates her eggs' arrivals.
But one of my favourite sounds can be found just outside my front door! And it’s even better at night These frogs are here for one reason, to lay their frogspawn and give rise to future generations
