Why dawn is the peak danger hour in the garden
In the first light of the day, garden birds come down low to feed, bathe, and collect food for nestlings, and they are distracted, close to the ground, and slower to react than they are later on. Your cat's hunting rhythm peaks at the same hour, because cats are built to be most active and alert around dawn and dusk rather than in the middle of the day. Put those two patterns together and dawn becomes the hour when a stalking cat is most likely to succeed, especially where shrubs, long grass, or a fence corner give her cover within pouncing distance of a feeding spot. Fledglings learning to fly during the breeding months are at even greater risk, since they spend time on the ground and cannot escape quickly even when they spot the cat.
Keep the dawn hunt indoors and make it worth her while
The single change that protects the most birds is keeping your cat inside from before first light until the early feeding rush has passed and birds are moving about more alertly. That only works if indoors at dawn is genuinely good from the cat's point of view. Run a hunting-style play session with a wand toy as the light comes up, then serve breakfast, so the sequence she would have followed outside, stalk, chase, catch, eat, happens in the kitchen instead. Leave a window perch facing the garden so she can watch the birds she cannot reach, which many keen hunters will do intently for long stretches. If she has a flap, locking it overnight until the danger window passes removes the need for anyone to win an argument at the back door at sunrise.
Change the garden so birds get the advantage
Where birds feed changes how many a cat can catch. Place feeders and bird baths out in the open, well away from shrubs, fences, and low walls a cat can crouch behind, so feeding birds can see danger coming and have a clear flight path up. Dense, thorny planting directly beneath a feeder gives birds quick cover that a cat dislikes pushing into. A bell on a properly fitted quick-release collar gives some birds a warning and is worth using, but treat it as a partial aid rather than a solution, because experienced hunters learn to move without ringing it. Bring in any bird food scattered on the ground in the evening, since ground feeding draws birds to exactly the level and places where a dawn cat hunts best.
Accept the instinct and manage around it honestly
Hunting is not naughtiness, and scolding a cat who brings home a bird teaches her nothing except to avoid you while doing it. Some households solve the problem more fully with a secure outdoor enclosure or supervised lead time in the garden, which gives the cat air, grass, and watching time without free access to wildlife. If your cat does catch a bird, keep her away from it, and contact a local wildlife rescue for advice about the bird rather than handling it more than necessary. Watch your cat after successful hunts too, because birds and the parasites they can carry are a health consideration your veterinarian can advise on at routine visits. In KinsLe, Care Teams can assign the dawn play session, breakfast, and flap-locking check for this cat to whichever household member rises earliest, so bird-safe mornings do not rely on one bleary memory.