Beautiful Noise

I awoke early this morning to the sound of a male Blackbird, in full flow, singing from the T/V aerial - so much more melodic than the raucous calls of "Johnathan" (my tame Herring Gull) and his mates. Looking out, into the back garden, was to reveal a drab scene; thick, damp, fog meant that I couldn't see the back hedgerow - visibility was less than 20m! A Greenfinch "wheezed" somewhere within the buddlieas and a Song Thrush could be heard singing in the distance. The birds sensing that the approach of Spring is ever closer. I walked to our local shop, just after 08.30hrs - Collared Doves were announcing their territorial claims from all directions, Great Tit, Dunnock, Wren and Robin  demanding attention from their various song posts. Best of all was a singing male Mistle Thrush, a scarce Thanet bird these days, belting out his melancholy lament from the mature trees along West Dumpton Lane - superb!
In just three weeks we (Benno, Tom, Sye, Phil and I) head back to Loch Awe for our 3rd Scottish sojourn. I have still got loads of bits to get sorted out, but am now really getting in the groove - I have a plan for this trip; a single bite is all it will take! The final Canterbury & Thanet PAC regional meeting takes place tonight, before we take our summer break, I still don't know if I'll be able to make it - such is the workload at Fujifilm SIS at present.
So with nothing better to do I am going to post a series of images, from previous Springs and other places, where the sun shone brightly and the birds sang loudly; as Niel Diamond once sang - what a "Beautiful Noise".

Garden Warbler at Stodmarsh NNR - might not be much to look at but what a voice.
The structure of its magnificent song is, to my ears, like running water.

Moustached Warbler - June 2007 Mallorca

Nightingale - Pefkohorri, NE Greece.
Why are they so shy in the woodland habitats of the UK?
In Greece they are garden birds; completely at home on the power cables where they
can belt out their incredibly powerful song - wonderful noise!

Ruppell's Warbler - Icmeler, Turkey (May 2010)

Sardinian Warbler - Pefkohorri, NE Greece (May 2009)

Serin - Mallorca June 2007
So much excitement - its jingle, jangle mix of notes delivered at express pace.
A sunshine sound that conjours memories of The Mediterranean.