Country diary: The twittering and squalling of redwings speak only of spring | Mark Cocker

Wincle, Cheshire: These UK winter visitors herald their departure by tuning their voices to the flock's exuberant tuneless wanderingsOn the path to Wincle Minn, I heard redwings singing from the treetops. It was notable because, while 700,000 of them winter in these islands, barely 50 stay to breed. Yet the birds migrating back to Iceland or Scandinavia, lulled by increases in day length and temperature, start to tune up until the whole flock catches this pre-song habit. The collective voices mark a very specific moment in the year and, as much as the sight of a swallow, tuneless late March redwing rehearsals speak only of spring.It wasn't so much a sound as a soundscape or sonic atmosphere: a seamless layer of twittering mixed with awkward rubbery squalling, yet also scraps of sweetness. A recurrent element was a five-six note running of scales, up or down, with a hint of song thrush but of song thrush song stuttering, or as if the phrases had spilled out inadvertently. Continue reading...