This time last year I was up and out of bed at 3.30am. Strange behaviour, one might think, for a weekend, but I, like many other people across the world, was heading over to a local nature reserve to celebrate The Wildlife Trusts’ International Dawn Chorus Day.

Birdsong really peaks in springtime, particularly at dawn, so most of us miss the best of it whilst we are fast asleep in our beds.

That is why, on Sunday, May 3, I will once again be getting up before the crack of dawn to fully appreciate one of the greatest, longest-running, shows on earth.

It is a magical experience to be out and about right on the cusp of dawn, between the night mists and the brightness of day. At first, in the dark, all you can hear are the night sounds, such as the occasional hoot of a tawny owl off in the distance. But around the time when the first sliver of dawn begins to creep across the sky is when the real sonic fireworks begin. And what a great feeling it is to be able to witness, first hand, the very first birdsong of the day.

But the competition is fierce and so, not to be outdone, neighbouring birds immediately start singing with gusto too.

Within moments, the soundscape of the woods totally changes and is ablaze with bird song — the chorus has begun!

Colin Williams, a fellow birder and reserves ecology officer at the Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT), believes the dawn chorus is one of nature’s wonders: “Experiencing the dawn chorus is truly a unique and rewarding experience; well worth the early rise. “A recent TV series counting down the UK’s top 40 wildlife spectacles placed bird song and the dawn chorus in the top ten; I certainly won’t disagree with that.

“No two dawn choruses are the same, so one of the delights is listening to the order of who sings first and to see how much each different species anticipates the dawn.”

Listening to the dawn chorus conjures up an image to most people of being out in a woodland.

Whilst this is a fantastic place to be, you can hear the dawn chorus pretty much anywhere, including in the middle of towns and cities.

Open your window in the early morning and you will be presented with a symphony on your doorstep. But to hear the most number of species, and therefore the widest variety of birdsong, it is best to head to a place with a range of habitats within earshot — standing on the edge of a woodland, looking out on to meadows with a lake nearby, would be the perfect spot to listen to a whole host of birds singing, without even moving a muscle.

And places like this do exist. Visit BBOWT’s Warburg Nature Reserve near Henley to stand on grasslands and listen to the birdsong from within the woodland, watching red kites wheeling overhead.

Or take a trip to Foxholes near Shipton-under-Wychwood to enjoy the bubbling River Evenlode and standing under the canopy of trees.

There are a whole host of places to hear the dawn chorus, visit www.bbowt.org.uk to find out more.

Being a relative newcomer in ‘birding’ terms, I cannot identify every birdsong I hear whilst I am out roaming the countryside. But what I can do is identify an ever-growing number of birds by song alone, which is surprisingly satisfying. Coming across a mysterious, unfamiliar birdsong now often turns into a game of hide and seek through bushes, scrub and tree branches, trying to locate the unseen troubadour with binoculars before it disappears off into the blue beyond.

You do not have to be a bird expert to soak up the dawn chorus though — even if you cannot tell a wren from a blue tit, you can simply relax and enjoy taking in the sound of this time-old natural symphony.

Whilst the songs of many birds sound very beautiful, the birds are not singing for our benefit. For the most part, birdsong is about men showing off. The male birds are signalling their occupation of a territory by singing — the songs are intended to attract females but also to ward off neighbouring males from their patch. The birds use song as an ‘honest’ indicator of fitness — the males must be strong, healthy and well-fed in order to devote so much time and energy to singing. He must also be skilful enough to avoid any predators attracted by making himself so conspicuous by singing. The best, loudest singers attract more females, have bigger territories and are, therefore, more successful at raising young.

So why so early?

“There are three good reasons why most birds choose to concentrate their territorial song at dawn,” says Colin.

“With poor light early in the morning, birds can sing their hearts out safe in the knowledge it will be difficult to be pinpointed by potential predators.

“Early singing also allows birds plenty of feeding time later in the day when it will be easier to find their quarry as the light improves. “But possibly most importantly, early mornings are generally characterised by minimal air turbulence which allows for better sound transmission.

“Not only is there less wind at this time of day, there is also much less background noise.

“For these reasons, a typical bird song in the early morning can be as much as 20 times more effective than at midday.”

Visit www.bbowt.org.uk to find local wildlife trust events, or www.idcd.info to search for events further afield.