I knew it would work! No sooner had I put finger to keyboard than we had the avocet at P.F. from a very early hour. I know it stayed, but I would have missed an hour or two in bed to have been there when it was found.
I also knew that the peace and quiet argument would be much to the fore, and I tend to go along with that (although I think in many places, e.g. Carrington, you have to leave it quite late before the real disturbance kicks in).
One reason Henry gives is an interesting one, but is really a contradictory situation. O.K., migrants may move on at dawn, but, and here's the big reason why you might catch these birds later in the day, they have to move on to somewhere else!
In the end, it all comes down to personal metabolism I think. I'm a night owl, but also need my sleep (especially as I am not as healthy as I once was), whereas others can get by with Thatcher-like cat-naps (sorry if I've insulted anyone there).
Good luck to everyone looking for stuff this spring. I will certainly applaud your efforts if you turn anything up at 6.00 a.m. that I can catch up with at a more earthly hour!!
For me the biggest reason, and one that Henry touched upon, is beating the disturbance that dog walkers and joggers cause. I think that in relatively undisturbed sites i.e. those with hides - it isn't as important but at those more 'intimate' sites it can make all the difference
Many reasons in my estimation why 6am is better than 10am on the whole, Andy. Here's a quick list of reasons that get me out of bed before dawn:
Early morning can experience decent viz-mig in spring which tails off after a few hours. Early morning means the birds haven't yet been disturbed by dog walkers, ramblers, scramblers and the like, a big thing for a largely urban county. In the early morning (at this time of year) passerines are far more vocal making them easier to pick up and identify, for example Groppers don't often sing after dawn. Nocturnal species are still sometimes singing or active at dawn producing sightings which are rarely possible mid-morning onwards. In more urban areas, hearing birds at 6am is easier as people are still tucked up in bed and noise pollution is far less than later on in the day. Falls of migrants from overnight can slowly move on after dawn so a 6am walk is far more likely to produce the birds than mid-morning. After sleeping for quite a few hours, birds are desperate to feed first thing in the morning and are less nervous of people. At popular sites, dawn birding means you find all the birds first, good for those that chase the buzz of finding rarities. Dawn birding is far more energizing than a lie-in!
So overall Andy I recommend birding at dawn in spring and i'm sure I could think of another 10 reasons given time why I like it. It's a very special time of day when the birds are super active and you generally have the wildlife all to yourself.
There is lots of evidence for both late and early birding Andy. Barry Hulme at Pennington almost daily sees good birds, including many county rare and scarce birds, no one else does due his 'crack of dawn' birding habit though. I know you've done well at Audenshaw later in the day but by the same token Paul Hammond's spring pre-dawn assaults on the site have also paid off. Many birds move through soon after dawn but the same can be said for afternoon or evening too but for many, the early bird does catch the worm and many decent county birds found mid-morning or afternoon have been so probably just because no one went early Sometimes, if you want to find that good bird first you've gotta beat anyone else to it.
Personally, I've preferred the more sedate midday to evening birding in the county and kept my silly hours of the morning for serious out-of-county birding.
Looking at several recent postings on the sightings page, I notice that some folk are beginning to take advantage of the earlier sunrise, and are out there taking on the world at 6.30 a.m. Now whilst I admire their dedication, and would not seek to question their sanity, I do pose the question: why so early? If it is the only time that they will not be missed at the family home, or that they can squeeze some birding into an otherwise hectic lifestyle, fair enough.
I wonder, though, is there actually any evidence that you are going to see more quality birds at 6.00 a.m. than at mid morning or early afternoon? My own experience seems to point towards the answer being 'no'. Without thinking too hard, I would say that every county rarity or scarcity that I have ever found has been in the mid-morning/early afternoon category, and I can certainly say that none whatsoever have been at 6.00 a.m. (cos I don't 'do' 6.00 a.m. unless I'm on holiday!!). Can anyone enlighten me (or remind me) of any worthwhile birds that have been seen at dawn, only to depart within minutes never to be seen again (within our county, of course)?
I hope people will not think I am knocking their approach to birdwatching. I am probably just looking to set my mind at rest about this so I can keep having my lie-ins during the new migration season that is about to begin.
