The Dawn Chorus 2025

The Dawn Chorus 2025 took place, as it does every year, in May. May is truly the month for bird enthusiasts, as numerous citizen science projects are held during this time. One of them is the Dawn Chorus, where people all over the world record birdsong—ideally before sunrise. Everyone is welcome to take part. I joined in and share my impressions from this year in this blog post.

The Dawn Chorus

Spring has begun, and with it, many citizen science projects related to birds are starting up again. One example is the Spring Bird Count, or the City Nature Challenge. The latter isn’t just for bird enthusiasts—it’s open to anyone with an interest in nature. Whether you want to apply or improve your species identification skills, or simply support a citizen science project that helps track species distribution, there’s something for everyone. After all, the more data we collect, the better it is for science. And what better way to do that than by involving people from all over the world?

It’s the same with the Dawn Chorus: everyone can take part. The Dawn Chorus project was launched in 2020—the year the coronavirus forced us to stay at home and avoid gatherings. The world came to a standstill. Cities grew quieter. What impact did this have on birds’ behavior and their songs?

The project was inspired by Bernie Krause, who traveled the world to make acoustic recordings—so-called “soundscapes”—not only of birds, but of entire natural environments.

I’ve been taking part in the Dawn Chorus since 2020—every year except 2023. Each year, something new has been added. In the beginning, the project started without an app. Then an app was introduced, although it didn’t work on my phone at the time (it does now!). At some point, a map was added that shows recordings from around the world. And not to be forgotten: the growing connection between science and art.

This year, new features have been added once again. For example, you can now listen to a “Dawn Chorus Score” on the project’s website—and you can even create one yourself using the app. Another practical update: the app can now show you the best time to record birdsong at your location. A wide range of statistics is now also available, offering insights into all the recordings collected so far. How many recordings have been made to date? Were more birdsongs recorded in urban or rural areas? And how many recordings were contributed on weekdays compared to weekends and public holidays?

There’s plenty to explore on your own, so I won’t go into detail about all the app’s features here. Just one more thing worth mentioning: the recording period has been extended this year. That means you can now start recording as early as April—although the main recording period is still in May.

Are you interested in joining the Dawn Chorus? If so, it’s best to check the official website to find out how to participate. You’ll also find useful tips on what to keep in mind. Time and location play an important role.

The Dawn Chorus 2025

Bird concerts in the Ernst-Thälmann-Park

This year, I made my first recordings for the Dawn Chorus 2025 on a Saturday in Ernst-Thälmann-Park in Berlin. I have to admit, I didn’t pay much attention this time to which specific days I should have been recording there. Depending on how busy I am, I have to stay flexible. Of course, that’s not ideal from a scientific perspective—but at least I’ve been participating every May. And since 2021, I’ve even been recording at two different locations.

So, as in previous years, I headed to a small pond in Ernst-Thälmann-Park on a weekend—this time, it was a Saturday.

Sunrise on that day was at 5:20 a.m. According to my phone app, the temperature was around 11°C, and the sky was clear in the early morning—though it became cloudier later in the day.

As I set out and crossed the street toward Ernst-Thälmann-Park, I was struck by the loud and beautiful songs of the nightingales. Their voices stood out above all the other birdsong—they truly dominated the morning soundscape.

As I sat down on the steps, I noticed numerous bats fluttering back and forth over the pond.

I started my first recording at 4:42 a.m.

How beautiful the chorus of birdsong was in the early morning hours!

Could a common blackbird and a Eurasian blackcap be heard there?

It was a true, yet beautiful, chorus of birdsong.

In my second recording, it’s clearer: somewhere in the bushes, there was definitely a Eurasian blackcap singing.

Eurasian blackcaps are very active in Berlin during the month of May. I often confuse them with European robins—unless the robin is singing loudly and clearly. Easier to recognize are the “tak” calls of the Eurasian blackcap. Whenever I hear those calls, I know that a Eurasian blackcap is somewhere nearby.

While I was waiting for the next recording, a pair of mallards came around the corner. The way they looked at me… simply amusing. Then they somehow tried to waddle down the steps to get into the pond.

As I focused on my third recording, I noticed the song of a common blackbird. Or was it two or even three?

There was still a Eurasian blackcap singing, but the common blackbird was now clearly louder—or perhaps singing closer to me—so I could hear it more prominently.

The common blackbird was perched in a tree above me, so I could hear it quite well.

What I couldn’t hear, however, were the many bats fluttering back and forth in front of me. But they were surely communicating as well.

So, I turned my attention back to the birds. I kept hearing the Eurasian blackcap repeatedly, as well as the nightingales. Unfortunately, the nightingales aren’t (very) audible on my recordings because they were simply too far away.

Otherwise, I observed what was happening around me. A wood pigeon landed on a branch on the opposite side of the pond. So did a magpie. A hooded crow, however, landed right in front of me on the railing—but after just two or three seconds, it flew away again.

Then my friends, the mallards, appeared once more. This time, I let them inspect my spot. But, well, it didn’t seem all that interesting to them after all, because they waddled back down the steps shortly afterward.

As I made my fifth recording, the Eurasian blackcap and the nightingale began to sing simultaneously.

What stood out to me in the recording were the many cooing wood pigeons.

The great tits were less noticeable to me that day. I knew they were around, but they kept quite quiet that morning. I also thought I heard a chiffchaff now and then. I wasn’t entirely sure, but I think there might have been one.

I made my final recording at 5:32 a.m.

Just before heading home, I listened for a while longer to the song of a nightingale.

How beautiful and loud it sang.

A week and a half later, I went to Ernst-Thälmann-Park on a Wednesday. Since the sun rose that day at 5:01 a.m., I made my first recording already at 4:32 a.m. That was very early. But the Eurasian blackcaps rewarded me with their beautiful songs. The mallards also seemed to have been waiting for me.

Nevertheless, I initially ignored the mallards because I wanted to start with the recordings.

That day, the street felt louder and more disturbing than on the weekend. It also seemed like there was less activity overall. However, the hooded crows were very active, as was a common moorhen busily building its nest. On one recording, it can be heard clearly alongside the many hooded crows.

Something definitely seemed to be going on with the hooded crows. I watched as one crow pushed another off a branch above me.

Meanwhile, the great tits continued singing busily from the bushes. Unfortunately, I still couldn’t catch a glimpse of any of them.

I did get to see a grey heron, though. It seemed to be back again (the photo I took on another day in the Tiergarten). But unlike the songbirds, it was quiet this time.

Speaking of quiet, while I could listen to numerous birds in Ernst-Thälmann-Park, it was relatively silent in Anton-Saefkow-Park. Where were all the birds?

Bird concerts in the Anton-Saefkow-Park

I’ve only been going to Anton-Saefkow-Park since the second year of the Dawn Chorus project. Here too, I no longer pay attention to the exact day, but I make sure to record bird songs on both a weekend day and a weekday.

When I went out in mid-May on a weekend, I was very surprised by how few birds were singing. And I had actually started my recordings ten minutes earlier—already at 4:32 a.m.

I had heard the birds singing much louder there at that time before.

Maybe it was the weather? The day before, it had rained and thundered, and the day I made the recordings promised to be quite changeable. The temperature was below 10°C in the early morning.

A nightingale sang now and then from a distance.

But I still found the morning relatively quiet. Too quiet.

Every now and then, I heard a great tit or a hooded crow. But at first, the street noise seemed much louder to me.

Then, luckily, a common blackbird came by.

It was still quite windy, though. At one point, a blackbird made itself heard loudly (starting at about 15 seconds).

What also caught my attention that day were the many ambulances—and even a single police car. Although they can’t be heard on the recordings, a noticeable number of them passed by on Greifswalder Straße.

At the same time, it was clear that the birdlife was active as well: Eurasian blackcaps were around—I even managed to record one (see photo and recording on the left). I heard its song very close by. But wasn’t there also a short-toed treecreeper to be heard? While I was recording the common whitethroat, a great tit joined in as well.

In another recording (photo and recording on the right), the call of the great tit can be heard even more clearly.

Before I headed home, the birds sang a bit more. The common blackbird, in particular, became increasingly active. A pedestrian with a dog also passed by early in the morning (heard at the end).

A few days later, I visited Anton-Saefkow-Park again—this time on a weekday. It was quite windy again, but overall the day felt livelier than the previous weekend. The great tits were especially noticeably active and sang much more frequently.

There was indeed more traffic noise, but also more birds.

Still, I felt that the birds were a bit more active in Ernst-Thälmann-Park than in Anton-Saefkow-Park.

However, I only heard the common swifts on the weekday when I was at Anton-Saefkow-Park. Can you hear them too?

Every now and then, a nightingale could be heard, although it kept a low profile that day and wasn’t as present as usual. Still, its occasional song gave the morning a special atmosphere and reminded me of how diverse and lively the birdlife around me is.

Despite the rather quiet nightingale calls, recording the bird songs brought me great joy again. It’s always fascinating to capture the different sounds and to experience nature so consciously. I’m already looking forward to participating in the Dawn Chorus again next year and making more exciting recordings.

More information

Did you take part in the Dawn Chorus 2025 this year? If so, which birds did you hear? Let us know in the comments.