While out on the reserve today I was treated to the most beautiful soaring song of a skylark. On first hearing it my eyes looked to the sky to see if I could spot it hovering from a great height, only for me to find out it was standing in the grass right next to me.
Male skylarks can be seen rising almost vertically from farmland, grassland, salt marshes and moorland and effortlessly hovering and singing. The long complicated gorgeous song-flights of these birds can last for up to an hour and they can reach 300m before descending.
Flying skylark- Neil Smith
This species has seen a massive decline with only 10% of the numbers we had 30 years ago. It’s believed most of the decline is due to changes in farmland practices. One of the ways the RSPB is working with farmers to help these birds is by encouraging them to make skylark plots on their land. These are simply areas where no winter cereal is sown and are created by switching off the seeding machine or lifting the drill during sowing. Winter cereal is too tall and dense for the birds to forage so these more open areas allow them better feeding opportunities.
A skylark plot- Michael Trolove