Dawn Chorus

It may have been five o'clock in the morning but that didn't deter Derek from waxing lyrical about the major players in the avian symphony that filled the air.

Derek and Jimmy set up their recording equipment at Highland Water Woods near Bolderwood and waited for the sun to rise, with only the odd passing fallow deer casting a curious glance at their activities.

Far from any busy roads, there was little to interrupt the sound of great tits, blue tits, green woodpeckers, stock dove, nuthatches, chaffinches and tree creepers. 

Despite being in the heart of the National Park, the urban world was never far away though - with the early-morning planes being heard in the distance flying into and out of nearby Bournemouth International Airport.

Dawn breaks in the New Forest

Nevertheless, it was a perfect place to listen to birdsong as the sun came up and identify the calls of different birds.

Derek explained: "Deciduous oak and beech woodland has got to be one of the richest places for birdsong in early spring."

"At the moment the wood is full of song from nuthatches, blue tits and great tits, chaffinch, wren and cold tit.  Nuthatch is very vocal at this time of the year."

"In this small wood there must be two or three tree creepers singing - they flitter from one tree to the next.  Arriving at the base of the trunk, they make their way up the tree looking for insects in the grooves and then flying to the next tree."

"The ground is full of beech mast [nuts].  The chaffinch, who you can hear singing away, feeds mainly on the ground on the mast."

Identifying each bird isn't always straightforward even for Derek's expert ear: "The great tit has a great variety of calls - sometimes deceiving the bird watcher."

They were also lucky enough to spot a green woodpecker 20 feet up a beech tree: "It's bright red head and black around its cheeks - it is quite a large woodpecker who spends a lot of time on the ground looking for ants."

There will be full coverage of the International Dawn Chorus on May 4 2008 here on bbc.co.uk/hampshire