Dawn Chorus Time Calculator
The dawn chorus peaks in spring. Pick your location to find out when to be outside (and which birds to listen for first). International Dawn Chorus Day is the first Sunday of May.
Chorus starts (approx)
18:52
~30 min before sunrise
Sunrise August
19:22
London today
The dawn chorus peaks April–July. Outside that window, it's quieter — but the robin and wren sing most of the year.
Order of the chorus (spring)
1.
Robin
Often starts singing while it's still dark — 30–40 min before sunrise. First in, last out.
2.
Blackbird
Second up. Rich, flute-like. Listen from 20–30 min before sunrise.
3.
Wren
Disproportionately loud for its size. Joins about 10 min before sunrise.
4.
Song Thrush
Repeats every phrase 2–4 times. Easy to pick out from 20 min pre-dawn.
5.
Chaffinch
Cascading descending song. Starts around sunrise itself.
6.
Great Tit
'Teacher teacher teacher' — unmistakable. At or just after sunrise.
Heard one? Log it.
It's Birds Mate turns your sightings (and earfuls) into a collectible card. Audio counts as a capture.
Start logging →Sunrise times are approximate (NOAA simplified formula). Times are local. Dawn chorus onset offset: ~30 min before civil sunrise (Catchpole & Slater, 2008). See /tools.