Chirping Birds Communicate in the Middle of the Night in Spring

Do you hear the birds chirping in the middle of the night? I do. The birds began chirping shortly after 3 o'clock this morning. Yes, it happens every late April and early May. 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.

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. According to Yahoo Answers, “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.

Paul

Record Daily Rainfall Happened 19 Years Ago Today

April weather can certainly be damp and cool across southwestern Connecticut, but what happened 19 years ago today was unforgettable and record-setting. We were deluged with rain Sunday, April 23, 2006, and it caused flooded basements, closed roads, forced evacuations, and claimed two lives locally. 

In fact, nearly a half-foot of rain fell at Sikorsky Memorial Airport, making it the highest single-day rainfall total on record at the time.

Unfortunately, the rain continued to hammer southwestern Connecticut all day long, while the Sun was shining at Yankee Stadium during the baseball game between New York and Baltimore in the Bronx. That was probably the most frustrating aspect, just waiting for the rain to stop. The rain was moving from South-to-North instead of West-to-East.

There's no question the 6.39" of rain which fell in Fairfield 16 years ago today is the most ever in one-day in my lifetime. I can't ever recall that much rain in a 24-hour period. The previous October was record-setting due to the foot-and-a-half of rain which fell during the month, but it was spread out over a prolonged period of time. This time, nearly two months worth of rain fell in 24 hours.

Firefighters evacuated more than 30 people, including infants, with an inflatable boat as more than five feet of water flooded streets between Halley Avenue and Mountain Grove Cemetery in Fairfield that day. Fire Chief Richard Felner, a good friend of mine, said that nobody was injured in the worst flooding to hit Fairfield in at least a decade.

Around town, most of the people with whom I spoke had their own tales to tell. Most of the people who live along the Rooster River said it was the worst flooding in their neighborhood in more than 25 years. According to The Connecticut Post, Toni Bodor of Fairfield said what many of us felt. "It just kept going. Before we knew it, it was right to the top of the wheels of my car. It happened so suddenly. I kept checking out one window, the front and back, before I realized I couldn't move my car."

The magnitude of the flooding in Fairfield hit me with news of the death of a town resident. According to our morning newscast, seventy-one year old Elsbeth Schubiger lived with her husband on Bradford Street, just feet from the Rooster River. Investigators found her body lodged between a tree and a retaining wall the following morning.

Police say Schubiger was cleaning up debris along the swollen river when she apparently slipped, lost her balance, and fell into the fast-moving waters. Her death is a tragic reminder of nature's wrath, even in one's own backyard.

As for neighboring Bridgeport, the city established a single-day record of 5.3" which caused 13 people to be evacuated from an apartment building where up to four-feet of water built up in front of the three-story structure. Firefighters were able to remove six residents by boat, while the seven remaining residents were escorted to safety 45 minutes later.

Westport received nearly a half-foot of rain (5.37"), and the heavy rains contributed to the death of a Shelton child early Sunday morning. The youngster, who celebrated her first birthday the previous Tuesday, died when the car in which she was riding, slid out of control on the Merritt Parkway in Westport.

Rainfall totals from across southwestern Connecticut were impressive, to say the least. Other communities with at least four inches of rain included Milford (5.46"), New Canaan (5.17"), Norwalk (4.87"), Woodbridge (4.79"), and Southport (4.31"). Consider that the normal rainfall for the entire month of April is 3.99" based on 40 years of averages.

Paul

"Marginal" Risk for Severe Storms Across Southwestern Connecticut Today

NOAA's Storm Prediction Center is forecasting a "marginal" risk (level one) for severe storms across southwestern Connecticut today.

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— Paul Piorek WICC (@paulpiorekwicc.bsky.social) April 19, 2025 at 3:25 PM

Paul

Elevated Risk for Wildfire Spread Today

There is an elevated risk for wildfire spread today across Fairfield and New Haven counties: forecast.weather.gov/wwamap/wwatx...

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— Paul Piorek WICC (@paulpiorekwicc.bsky.social) April 18, 2025 at 6:27 AM

Paul

Frost Advisory for Southern New Haven County Early Friday

A Frost Advisory will be in effect for southern New Haven County Friday from 2 a.m. until 8 a.m. EDT: forecast.weather.gov/showsigwx.ph...

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— Paul Piorek WICC (@paulpiorekwicc.bsky.social) April 17, 2025 at 6:13 AM

Paul

April Slightly Cooler-Than-Normal at Midway Point of Month

Halfway through the month, the average daily temperature for April at the Bridgeport climate station through Tuesday is 46.9° F, which is 0.3° cooler-than-normal. The range is 71° (April 4) and 31° (April 9).

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— Paul Piorek WICC (@paulpiorekwicc.bsky.social) April 16, 2025 at 1:53 PM

Paul