Chirping Birds Greet Early-Morning Risers

Do you hear the birds chirping in the middle of the night? They are. The birds began chirping shortly after 3 o'clock this morning. Yes, it happens every May. As soon as I leave my house and walk to the car, I hear them. And, because the sound is so foreign at that hour, I always pause to listen a little more carefully. Yes, the birds are chirping their melodious songs in the middle of the night. Although Sunrise is a few hours away, the birds are already in midday form.

Waking up at 2:30 and arriving at work in the middle of the night is a surreal experience, to be sure, but hearing the birds chirping loudly at that hour is nothing short of shocking. Obviously, the days are getting longer, but is that the only reason the birds are up so early in the morning this time of the year? My curiosity got the better of me. I just had to find out.

No doubt you’ve heard the old adage about the early bird catching the worm, but there had to be more to it than that. Our morning director was also curious as to why she heard the birds on her way to work, too. So, she consulted Yahoo Answers for a possible explanation. “The birds chirp and sing to communicate,” it states. “What you may not know is that, with few exceptions, it is the males that are doing all the chirping and singing. They chirp and sing to attract a mate and to announce their territory.”

But why are they chirping in the middle of the night? “Each day, as soon as possible, the males want to make sure that everyone knows that they are alive and well and ready to defend their territory. What is interesting, although it may all sound the same to us, is that there is some evidence suggesting that each bird has its own unique song and other birds know it.”

As for the modern scientific viewpoint, it is devoid of any romantic, religious or aesthetic aspects. It states that the pre-dawn chorus this time of the year signifies the warning signals given by each bird as it announces the re-establishment of its territory for the purpose of courtship, nesting, and food getting. All of these are the fundamental and basic steps to breeding, and the early chorus is just a way to warn other counterparts to keep away from their respective territories.

Now when I hear the birds chirping in the middle of the night, at least I’ll know why. Our weather will be worth chirping about over the next few days. Temperatures will soar into the 70s and close to 80 degrees today once morning clouds give way to developing sunshine. Fair and pleasant weather is expected tomorrow and Saturday. Sunday will bring more clouds, but the weekend will be dry and seasonable.

Paul