3.50 in the morning and I was waiting for Tony Fitzgerald by the Railway Tavern Car Park wishing it was p.m. and the pub was open. Tony was bang on time and when we arrived at Woods Mill we were soon joined by Angela, Will, Hazel, Roger and Jane, all looking amazingly bright and optimistic at this usually unexperienced hour.

It was still fairly dark as we moved along the top path towards the reedbed and the birds were still asleep. At about 4.20 singing commenced. The first to make itself known was a Cetti’s Warbler which was followed by a couple of Reed Warblers chuntering away. Not what I was expecting. They were so loud it took a while before sheer weight of numbers enabled the other songsters to make themselves heard.

As the sun shone stronger and we moved into the meadow Blackcaps, Whitethroats and Chiffchaffs joined forces with our resident favourites Chaffinch, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Robin, Wren, Dunnock and ventriloquist Great Tit for a tumultuous performance which entranced us all and we all felt privileged to share the wonderful early morning with them. Back in the woods a Nightingale was winding up his vocal chords to announce his iconic song.

Shivers down the spine! A distant Turtle Dove purring joined by another closer but frustratingly invisible. We were getting the full house we were hoping for and moved on to the Millstream. Here were another three Nightingales and as we sauntered along to a backdrop of birdsong a Lesser Whitethroat joined the Warbler band.

Skylarks started to be heard as reached the open fields and the little bit of bread and cheese of a Yellowhammer became audible. Lapwings were battling with the threat of corvid predation which we all felt must be a big strain on them. After a while the early start began to catch up on us a bit and people were chatting about the prospects of a quick nap or a second breakfast when returning home. Angela had to bring us all back in line so she could hear a bird singing in the long grasses! It was the quiet rasp of a Reed Bunting which suddenly appeared perched on a bush by the stream.

High above the songsters we found Buzzard, Kestrel and Red Kite and both House Martin and Swift appeared somewhere during the morning! At last we called it a morning. By that time I could almost smell the toast and marmalade of second breakfast. It was so worth the early start and we saw/heard a total of 38 bird species.