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Country diary: There’s no blackbird song like the one on my street

Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire: With summer’s great silence coming, we must enjoy the birdsong while we can – as I have done with my local conifer crooner

Country diary: There’s no blackbird song like the one on my street

TL;DR

  • The author has two summer earworms: an ice-cream van jingle and a local blackbird's unique song.
  • The blackbird's song has developed over years, with the current season potentially marking its refinement and confident delivery.
  • Each blackbird creates a unique song, copying some sounds but building a personal setlist of motifs.
  • The author feels a deeper, more personal relationship with this specific blackbird's familiar refrain compared to others.
  • The fleeting nature of the song, which will end with summer's silence and the birds' moult, is seen as sacred.