intensity and variety of birdsong

Nothing quite marks the coming of spring

more clearly than birdsong.

From the start of the new year,

as inch-by-inch,

-by-minute,

and hour-by-hour,

the days get lighter

and the promise of life’s annual renewal

becomes ever more a reality,

so the volume,

intensity and variety of birdsong increases.

Now – at the end of April

and beginning of May – it is reaching its peak.

Yet for the eight out of 10 Britons

who spend their lives in towns and cities,

this annual crescendo can often pass them by