Stroud dawn chorus

Dec 05, 2023, 09:14 AM

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"I’ve struggled with tinnitus,  more specifically hyperacusis, for 26 years. Extremes of loud noise and silence are the enemy. I’ve pretty much given up on my one main passion, live music, but there are some surprising benefits. I can still hear bats, for example. 

I’ve recently moved from Bristol, which has 24/7 background noise, to Stroud, considerably quieter. The natural sounds seem more amplified however and I’ve found myself noticing nature much more. The dawn chorus where we live is a particular highlight. There is no hum of a factory, buzz of motorbike or wail of a passing ambulance. Just pure bird sound. Unsociably early for us humans but when the euphonic calls flow down the valley and the local blackbirds, jackdaws, crows hit their rhythm; I get a wave of calm. A feeling unachievable through artificial music."

Dawn chorus in Stroud recorded by Mike Bingham.