Enjoy the Dawn Chorus

Intro

There’s no better start to the day than waking up on a spring morning to hearing the birds singing! When they’re all singing together, its called the dawn chorus! Listening to bird song can be a very comforting activity and can help the person respond to a single sensory experience without feeling overstimulated. The sound of bird song can be familiar and relaxing.

What you need

A CD or download of bird song. This could be individual bird song eg a blackbird, robin, bluetit etc or something like the dawn chorus.

The Activity

Before the activity make sure that the environment is quiet and uninterrupted.
Use the person’s name to introduce the activity.
Play the bird song.
Draw the person’s attention to the birdsong and say ‘listen’.
When the birdsong is finished you might like to talk about the birdsong. Tell the person if you have a favourite birdsong. Name some popular/common birds e.g. blackbird, robin, bluetit etc. Ask them if they have a favourite birdsong. Talk to them about the dawn chorus and ask them if that’s something they enjoy.
Play another bird song.
Draw the person’s attention to the birdsong and say ‘listen’.
Describe what nature you can see out of the window and mention any birds that you can see.

Written by Sophie Jopling and Sarah Mousley from Kent Occupational Therapy_