BirdNote recently received a letter from Sylvia Sibley, age 9, describing her profound experience hearing the dawn song of her neighborhood birds. We hope you enjoy her story, which captures the wonder of nature’s daybreak symphony . . .
Today I want to share with you one of the most amazing experiences in my life.
This morning it was raining. The harsh, TAP, TAP on my roof woke me from my sleep. I slowly sat up in my bed wondering what had woken me, I threw open my curtains to see the dark landscape of my yard. I cracked my window slightly, to let some fresh air in. Then I heard it: the dawn song. I quickly climbed out of bed and slipped on sweatpants, a sweater, and my vest. Then I slowly crept out of my room, careful not to wake my parents. I opened the door, slipped on my boots and grabbed a light chair from the deck. Then I walked into our yard. I slowly sat down in the chair. All the birds are chirping, trilling out their songs. The Pacific Wrens, the White-crowned Sparrows, the Northern Flickers, the Robins, Varied Thrushes all belting out their songs in a mixed jumble of lovely bird sounds. It seemed as if this had all been rehearsed time after time until perfection. It seemed as though they were all performing a concert for me.
Sylvia has listened to every episode of BirdNote! We are grateful to Sylvia for being such a dedicated listener and for reminding us of the concert that awaits us every morning during spring.