A last-chance-to-see, by ear
Dawn Chorus Quest
The dawn chorus is one of the most spectacular sounds on the planet. It is also, unfortunately, a performance that is losing its cast.
Our quest: to reclaim the lost notes of the British dawn, and then try to coax them back.
Fully playable without sound — every song is visualised and described.
I'm Pip, your guide to the chorus.
The dawn chorus plays softly as ambience. Prefer silence, or can't hear it? Open the written description for a sense of what the recording sounds like.
Six mornings to listen to.
Start with the warm up to get your ear in gear. Go back to 1975, when the chorus was richer, then leap forward to two very different 2076s. One we make on purpose; one we just drift into.
The Calibration
Five very distinctive voices to help you tune your ears. A gentle introduction to the art of listening.
5 birds · 5 questions · 2 choices →
The Uncomfortable Silence (2026)
Ten birds you might still hear from a British garden at first light. The chorus has thinned; these are the hardy survivors.
10 birds · 10 questions · 4 choices →
The Fragmented Chorus (2000)
The year 2000. A time when many species still sang in the dawn. Sparrows, swifts overhead, and warblers in the thickets.
30 birds · 10 questions · 4 choices →
The Lost Symphony (1975)
1975. A world where a symphony of species woke the country. Cuckoos, turtle doves, and corn buntings. Most are now red-listed, or simply gone.
50 birds · 10 questions · 4 choices →
The Great Recomposition (2076 · Hopeful)
A future where we decided that hedgerows were more important than highway extensions. The cuckoo is back. The nightingale is louder. The music is returning.
65 birds · 10 questions · 4 choices →
The Final Fade (2076 · Grim)
A last-chance-to-hear. Seven hardy generalists—pigeons, crows, the odd robin—singing into a very quiet morning. Let's hope this stays fiction.
7 birds · 7 questions · 4 choices →