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In spite of an unpromising start, a cold grey morning with a hint of rain, twenty four 'early birds' turned out on Saturday 5 May 2012 at 6 am for an early morning walk to listen to the dawn chorus on Harnham Slope, Salisbury. The event was held to mark International Dawn Chorus Day on 6 May, a worldwide celebration of Natures Daily Miracle. The event, organised by the Wiltshire Council Rights of Way and Countryside Team in conjunction with the Friends of Harnham Slope and South Wiltshire RSPB Group with the support of Salisbury City Council, was led by Tony Goddard and Sue Walker. A good range of birds were identified by their song including song thrush, blackbird, robin, dunnock, coal tit, great tit, chaffinch and chiffchaf. The wren was by far the most vociferous although the blackcap was the star performer of the morning. Other highlights included goldcrest and a family of young long tailed tits. A male kestrel was observed hunting over a clearing and a large 'passage' of swallows (heading north?) passed overhead. Other birds seen or heard were carrion crow, wood pigeon, jackdaw, rook and house sparrow, 19 in total. For many of us the house sparrow with its drastic decline in numbers is now a more exciting sighting than the rapidly increasing blackcap. The importance of appropriate habitat management on the slope was also highlighted. The value of providing and maintaining dense low level scrub and understorey both within and at the edge of clearings and below the canopy of the woodland. This provides nesting and foraging sites for many of the woodland bird species, especially those that nest close to or at ground level. These birds are also vulnerable to disturbance from uncontrolled dogs during the nesting season. A good distribution of ivy clad trees is also beneficial for woodland species. A bird survey of Harnham Slope was carried out in 2010/11 by John Vickerman of the South Wiltshire RSPB Group. This recorded a total of 40 species on the slope with 15 breeding species. With the exception of blue tit, magpie and bullfinch all the breeding species recorded then were seen or heard during this walk.