It was International Dawn Chorus Day and we were at Loch Insh by 6am for an RSPB guided walk. The birds in the car park were putting on a good show, and already we hit the challenge of the morning. Our guide would point and say: “That’s a chaffinch!” No sooner had everyone turned their heads and tuned their ears, a pesky band of tits, warblers and robins would pipe up and confuse things. Which one was which? How do you describe birdsong? So walking, we collectively tried to capture elusive bird language in human tongue.
