THE LARKS OF THE UK AND IRELAND.

Ronnie Carleton.

2015

A Natural History of UK and Irish Larks.

 THE UK AND IRISH LARKS.

Ronnie Carleton.

UK LARKS, THEIR BIOLOGY AND BREEDING

The UK breeding larks are in decline and the three larks which includes the migrant shore

lark is the subject of this biology. Skylarks, once a very common bird are still found in

some areas but in areas where they should be that are no more.

In this research I am dealing mainly with the two UK breeding species, the Skylark and

Wood-lark as well as one of the migrant species, the Shore or Horned lark. On the last page, I

will in passing, include some other migrant lark species that have turned up on our shores

most of which I have never seen as an observer.

When I was a boy and teenager there was more larks around than there is today and it has

been noticed that in 2014 are getting much rarer in the UK countryside. In fact both the

Skylark and the Wood-lark have been on the Red List of very endangered bird species for a

number of years now.

Some of the reasons for the decline is well known, some suspected and a few, totally off the

wall explanations.

The farming community is where many point the finger but in fairness to farmers they today

are more conservation minded and have sent up areas for wildlife on their lands and not just

for birds. It is very easy for the layperson to be negative in their thinking about larks and

other declining bird species in the UK but negativity has no place in wildlife conservation

because nothing really gets done except by a few people who take the positive view and move

forward.

The birds of prey are a good example of wildlife conservation starting with a massive decline

through two World Wars up into the 1960’s to new laws and conservation projects that helped

them recover.
Today we have red kites, buzzards, kestrels, peregrine falcons, merlin’s and osprey’s all

breeding and flying in the UK. Their populations have soared and in some areas now

regarded as a ‘common’ bird of prey.

I have no doubt that some people will blame such a rise in the birds of prey, one of the main

reasons for the decline of the sky and wood larks but this would be far from accurate from a

biological point of view of which I have written about later.

A drop in populations of larks is bad enough but we must also consider a drop in other bird

species as well such as pipits, tree sparrows, what is termed as ‘song’ birds, the blackbirds,

thrushes and robins all at the same time.

Something else therefore is responsible for such a decline in some UK birds and it is not just

new methods of farming that can always be blamed because as you will see there could well be

other major factors and disturbance by humans is one of them. More people have taken to

the countryside than ever before and more countryside pursuits available for those that want

them including those people who watch birds and see the birds but don’t see the problem.

Bird surveys by such people are useful to give us some idea of what is really happening but I

suggest that during such surveys other factors should be noted and recorded. Getting a count

of such species is all well and good but missing out on hedge and field damage, past moorland

fire damage, over grazing by sheep (Common) the wrong type of habitat now in place,

(getting more common) and daily possible disturbance factors such as humans, and farm

work going on in a breeding area.

Poor or bad management of breeding UK lark habitats is I should point out an underlying

factor and in some cases falls into vandalism by people who should know better and who work

and live in a Rural environment. Thank goodness for private golf courses because in some

places across the UK this has saved some skylarks when the grass is left in areas. I always

think that if it does not need fixing or not a danger then don’t fix it and though a few people

might think an area of ground looks ‘unmanaged’ and just grass, an eyesore a few would
claim, they need to look at the much bigger picture.

Overgrazing lark habitat with sheep and at times cattle is today a major threat to skylarks

and pipits in the UK countryside but managed grazing with such as well as with horses can

and is useful to promote a habitat that is useful to wildlife.

This also includes good woodland management and planting for this attracts the Wood-lark

and pipits while in the grassland boundary’s the skylark and Grey Partridge.

I will open the main part of my research with the skylark with its biology and habits because

it is here we have a major wildlife indicator of how well the UK countryside is doing today.

CODEX WILDLIFE FORENSICS 2015

THE SKY AND WOODLARKS IN THE UK.

Ronnie Carleton (c) 2015

Completed Research Project

BIOLOGY DATA.

THE SKYLARK.

Many people in the UK and Ireland are aware of one of the songs of this lark, singing high on

a bright spring day and at times so high it cannot be seen. The trouble with skylarks is that

they seem to have more than one type of song or sound and this happens also when they are

on the ground or perching somewhere.

For ID purposes the 'normal' song is the most useful when the lark rises up from the

ground in a fluttering flight and climbs into the sky.

Close up it at first looks like a small speckled brown job, but if plumage is noted then the ID

can be made and rule out any other lark species and of course pipits.

Even with that I thought it best for this research to give a description of the skylark in some

detail.

Field identification;

At first sighting close up and not flying it looks like a small brown bird around 18cm and the

brownish upper parts are with blackish brown streaks but I should warn the reader that at

times there will be body colouring of more yellow and greys with broader dark streaks. I have

over the years noted that the feathers of the head crown, mantle, rump and the outer tail

feathers can be buff coloured or dirty white, depending on the light. A close look at the

crown will show streaks and there is a short crest but is more visible when the crest is erected

and much shorter than that of a Woodlark the other main species in this research. The side of

the larks head will show buff lores and a narrow stripe across the cheeks that will

link up with the pale throat.

With flank markings these may be buff coloured but with very few darkish streaks on it with

the underparts buff to white with good dark markings on the chest but the lower belly and

under-tail are are also buffish or yellow white. Throat and chin areas are the same colour

but with very fine speckles on the lower parts.

On the question of wings, the tips darker and a wing bar with sometimes two wing bars.

Other details I have included below which I feel is important. Other calls and sounds from the

Skylark can lead to confusion to the observer and the older the person is the more likely they

will not pick up such 'hidden' sounds unless, and I stress this strongly, is a hearing aid.

Because there is a wide range of calls it is also a problem and may cause confusion at times

with out lark species that turn up in the UK or with the calls of meadow and tree pipits.

During the nesting season the main song we all know will be heard and delivered within 80m

of the nesting area but I have heard them at least 100m> for where the nest is at Rushall in the
West Midlands.

Males tend not to wander into other skylark male territories and if there is a fair population

of skylarks I noted that the length of the song is much shorter. (Carmel outside Llandovery

and Tally area of Llandilo Wales.)

The average song times, at least in Wales, is two minutes> but never have I heard it more than

8 minutes anywhere in the UK and Ireland but some data suggests as long as 50 minutes!

During mating and the rearing of the young the song I suggest gets much shorter as time goes

on and this from my own observations over the years. They tended to be much longer at the

start of the mating season but by the time the young were in their 1st week this

song had dropped off to almost a minute<.

NEST AND EGGS DATA;

This lark has its nest on the ground on open land like meadows, grasslands,dunes, stoney and

sandy areas, marshland not waterlogged and common and moorlands. The nest is a slight

depression in the ground and most of the time sheltered by a tuft of grass but sometimes can

be exposed until grasses or weeds grow.

Nest is lined with grasses, sometimes hairs of horses or cattle, but in the more open sites I have

found small pebbles placed around the nest.

A nesting season that starts in April, sometimes later if it is a very cold spring and even in

April it will be around the third week before things really get under way. Eggs laid can be

anything between 3-4 at times 5, glossy and the shell is a dull greyish white with a buff or

greenish hue on them with brown spots all over the shell. At times there may well be double or

trebled brooded.

Incubation is by the female alone for 11-12 days and the young are then fed by both parents

and though they leave the nest in 10-11 days are still unable to fly and can become prey for

magpies and crows. They tend to freeze if a crow flies over and are hard to see on the

ground. After 20 days can now fly well.

Much of the decline of this lark is due to nesting habitat and more so on the lowlands but the

largest risk to the young and eggs is from members of the crow family and cold wet springs.

I should point out that much depends on the area and clutch is across the UK with what I

found was around 3 young.

Last years females will lay a week later than much older ones and young females tend to lay in

the same area but air and ground temperature plays a major part in this. From all the nests I

have found over the years 80% had 3 eggs or young, 15% had 4 eggs or young and only 5%

had five young and not all fledged as young.

My observations did show that females that hold onto a territory over three years did seem to

do much better that those that moved for one reason or another such as a known nesting field

being ploughed over or livestock on it.

Sheep for some reason in the wilder parts of

Wales where I have three research sites do not have much of a disturbance fact but on open

grasslands they are and larks leave such areas. Over grazing of course is one of the problems

in Wales and other areas.

Most of the eggs over they years in my lark site areas seemed to be laid between 06 00- and 09

00 in the mornings and for two seasons I checked three and four nests at dusk then again at

09-00 and found a new egg. This does not mean of course that an egg could not be laid

before after this time but it may well be something to do with growing day light.

As I stated early on much of the early nests are lost due to predators such a magpies, carrion

crows, jackdaws, rats, stoats, weasels, domestic or feral cats, sometimes mice or voles

depending on the area.

Hedgehogs and foxes will take the eggs, and young and I have known kestrels take young and

adults on my observation sites.

Where there are Barn owls, Short eared and Tawny owls there is always a risk but I have no

knowledge of Little Owls taking young larks even when they are nesting close by in a hole in
an oak tree.

The decline of the Skylark is well known but all the reasons are not and needs much more

research on grassland types and other habitats, disturbance factors by humans and animals,

chemical poisons in the food chain, and that old boogie; UK climate change.

Many farmers across the UK and now doing something to help all ground nesting birds as

well as leaving set aside areas of grasses and also planting out winter food crops in small

areas.

The other mode of research is lark infertility in some areas because I have found in the past

nests with eggs that never hatched out and the females sat well beyond the incubation times

with nothing to show for it.

Of course if such possible infertility does occur in some larks, males or females we need

evidence and also evidence of what could have caused it.

When this lark is in flight most of the detail is lost to the observer if at a distance.

Skylark.

Note the crest and long claw on the back part of the foot.

If close enough in flight the white edge to the tail and wing may be observed but again it

depends on how close and the light conditions.

In winter it may be seen in flocks and this happen in suitable areas of the UK, not always

inland but also along shore lines if the weather is snowy and icy. Will mix with other small

birds in winter and can be seen in stubble fields and rough grassland, the food at this time of

the year being mainly small seeds and very small animals of they can be found.

Wildlife food crops planted in areas of farmland will also attract them in winter.

Both the male and female look the same colour with the same markings after the moult in late

July in the UK and can take up to 58 days to complete.

The merlin, a small falcon on moorlands, will take skylarks and meadow pipits as food, but

the real danger is moorland fires during the breeding season.

 THE BIOLOGY OF THE WOODLARK IN THE UK.

In the UK this is a lark of open woodlands and scrub areas and areas of conifer clear felling. It

is not a common lark and found only in some south and western areas of the UK. In winter it

will join small flocks of other larks, pipits and finches in the field areas or rough old grassland

where seeds can still be found.

A small bird, brown coloured and with a short tail and will perch on trees, wire fence wire and

posts and rocks that other larks like the skylark do not do. Most of its time is spend on the

ground however but in flight it looks like a small woodpecker with a short tail that is tipped in

white.

Unlike the skylark the tail sides are not white but light brown instead and when sitting it will

be noted a light-dark pattern at the bend of the wing. The song can be heard high up and I

have heard them singing like this even when the stars were still out.

From my own field observations in parts of Wales and in Dorset I found the song in April

through to the end of May rather sad sounding.

It more than likely is a partial migrant bird as when it flocks there seems to be that hint of

strangers in the mist and at times a flight like that of a Long eared Bat may be observed.

Much has been on the song of this lark so I will not go into it here only to say that in the

breeding season I have seen and heard them singing from trees and dead branches sometimes

sounding like a chiffchaff, tree pipit and even a great tit.

Males during the breeding season also have a display flight that lets females know that he is

available and also to claim a territory and he will fly from a perch and climb high into the sky

but this is done at an angle and is a spiral motion and singing will only start in some areas I

know once it has reached over the tops of any nearby trees or tall bushes.

Other flight patterns are that woodpecker type flight that I mentioned early on and also if

there are birds of prey around or crows, will fold its wings and drop like a stone to the ground

at speed.

Some singing notes I have also observed when this lark was on the

ground.

In the first half of the 19 th century this lark is suspected of having been found in most

counties of England and Wales but by the middle of the last century they had vanished from

most of them by 1880/90 and NW England had no records to show that it was still a breeding

bird there.

Just after the First World War, 1920’s, they made a slow comeback in SE England, Somerset

and into the Brecon’s of Wales. Some breeding in small numbers were recorded in Yorkshire

1945 and 1949 then breeding there till 1958. In 1972 it was stated (wrongly) that there were

none to be found in Wales and I have found at least one breeding pair in Wales for

the years 2005, 2008 and 2011 and I suspect there may well be many more breeding that we

know because of the lack of good bird observers in the wilder but suitable habitats there.

My suggestion that temperature and sun hours may be a factor on breeding woodlarks in

some areas of the UK and there is without doubt a slight rise in the south and west of England
and Wales.

The type of habitat for this lark should be two to three year old conifer woods, clear

felled and replanted areas in Wales and open scrub lands with grasses.

They tend to avoid heavy clay soils, hollows that will hold frost for most of the winters day or

in early spring.

BREEDING AND NESTS.

The breeding season in England and Wales I found in my own research is around the 20 th of

March in a mild spring but at least into the second week of April if the weather has been cold

and damp. Nest sites of course are already picked out by than by the males and they can be

heard singing in suitable areas.

The breeding season lasts from early spring into the last week of August with male woodlarks

defending their territories to the full by bill ‘clicking’ and bursts of loud song.

More than one scape on the ground may be made by a mating pair before the final choice is

made it may take up to two days and this final nest site is not in the open as once suggested by

others but found in rough grass, low bracken and even in the shelter of scrubs or old logs.

Some nests may be found to have been covered with grass or bracken in a dome shape but no

matter where the main nest is sited it will be well hidden.

Nest building is carried out by the female and is not a rushed job which could take 4-6 days

but much depends on the weather conditions at this time

The 3-5 eggs of this species are much smaller than that of the Skylark though are very similar

in shape and colour with speckled dark spots and incubation is carried out by the female

alone for 11-15 days. Sometimes the brooding females are fed by the males but they will also

leave the nest at least three times > in a day to feed and drink.

For this species the habitat required is paramount and areas of light sandy soil is idea with

scattered trees and shrubs and as I stated before in young conifer woods and clear fell areas.

Outside the breeding season from November to February to early March it may well form
small flocks but I have never observed large flocks though it will mix with other small birds

when feeding.

They are not easy to find in the UK and if so it will be in the south and west but you will know

one when you see one.

EC Birds Directive 1979 SPEC 2 Unfavourable conservation status (vulnerable) and

concentrated in Europe

General

Protection (UK) Species of Conservation Importance Table 4

Population sizes (pairs) Selection thresholds Totals in species’ SPA

suite 1,500 15 1,102 (73% of GB population)

The Woodlark has a restricted global range that mostly lies in Europe.

It breeds from southern Fennoscandia (south of 60 o N), south to the Mediterranean and

North Africa, and from Iberia east to the Urals and Iran (Cramp 1998; Tucker & Heath

1994).

It is polytypic with two sub-species described. The nominate race L. a. arborea occurs across

most of Europe, south to Portugal, northern Spain, northern Italy and Ukraine. L. a. pallida

occurs further south of this range in North Africa, as well as further east, as far as Iran and

Turkmenistan (Cramp 1988).

Woodlarks are widely distributed across Europe from Iberia to the Russian steppes, but have

a generally southern distribution, occurring only in the southernmost parts of Scandinavia

and Britain.

This reflects its preference for Mediterranean and temperate climatic conditions with

warm summers and mild winters.

Western populations are sedentary, but further east birds migrate west and south from

summer breeding areas to avoid severe continental winters.

The species is absent from Ireland (Hagemeijer & Blair 1997).

In the UK, breeding is confined to southern England with most birds occurring in Dorset,

Hampshire (especially the New Forest), Surrey, Sussex, Breckland and the Suffolk Coast.

Small populations have also recently become established in north Norfolk and the east

Midlands. The preferred breeding habitat in England varies with location. Birds in the south-

west use agricultural habitats, whilst those in southern England are largely found on

heathland, and those in East Anglia depend on recently cleared or restocked forestry

plantations (Gibbons et al. 1993).

Migratory behaviour also varies across the species’ English distribution. East Anglian birds

largely desert their breeding grounds in the winter, although a greater proportion of the birds

in southern England remain on breeding areas throughout the year.

Population structure and trends

The European population of Woodlark is estimated at 1,050,376–2,239,048 pairs (Hagemeijer

& Blair 1997).

Numbers have fluctuated widely during the 20 th century in north-west and central Europe,

with several countries experiencing long-term declines. Up to two-thirds of the known

European population is currently experiencing a reduction in range, particularly in

Spain and France. Similarly in the UK and Finland, the northern limit of the range has

moved south, and the species is now absent in Ireland. These declines have been attributed to

the loss of dry grassland, fallow land and pasture to intensive agriculture, abandonment and

afforestation, and the loss, or degradation of lowland heathland to agriculture, scrub invasion

and development.

Severe winters in north-west Europe may also cause local extinctions where numbers have

already been reduced by habitat loss (Tucker & Heath 1994).

Woodlark populations have also fluctuated widely in the UK.

Between the 1920s and early 1950s the population expanded and the species became widely

distributed in England and Wales as far north as Yorkshire (Parslow 1973). This was followed

by a rapid decline and contraction of range. From the late 1960s to the early 1980s, the

population is thought to have fluctuated between 100–400 pairs (Sitters et al. 1996).

The number of 10x10 km squares occupied in the breeding season in the UK decreased by

62% between 1968–1972 and 1988–1991. However, the population has since increased from an

estimated 250 pairs in 1986 to around 1,500 pairs in 1997 (Wotton & Gillings 2000).

The recent increase is thought to be largely because of a recent increase in the availability of

breeding habitat in forestry plantations due to storm damage and clear felling.

Protection measures for population in UK

During the breeding season, the UK’s SPA suite for Woodlark supports, on average about

1,102 pairs. This amounts to about 73% of the British breeding population. Woodlarks do

not breed in Northern Ireland. The suite contains about 0.1% of the international population

(Britain lies on the edge of the European range and numbers in the UK are small compared to

elsewhere in Europe). The SPA suite contains seven sites where Woodlark has

been listed as a qualifying species.

Other Measures

A Biodiversity Action Plan has been published for this species (Biodiversity Steering Group

1998) and is being implemented as part of the UK’s national response to the Biodiversity

Convention.

Classification criteria

All sites in the UK that support more than 1% of the national breeding population were

considered under Stage 1.1, and all were selected after consideration of Stage 2 judgements.

All sites selected are multi-species SPAs, and are distributed in southern England and East
Anglia, reflecting the distribution of Woodlarks in Britain.

Given that the selection of sites under Stage 1.1 resulted in a suite which gives very good

coverage of Woodlark population and range in the UK, it was not considered necessary to

select additional sites using Stage 1.4.

It should be noted that this lark is in decline and has an amber warning on it from the RSPB

and BTO but other observers who would like to continue surveys in areas

and details sent to the RSPB and BTO. from 2015 onwards.

I have no doubt at all that there are areas in Wales and other places where this species is

present in very small numbers but has not yet been recorded.

Because they have been ‘seen’ in an area does not mean that they are breeding there and more

evidence is needed on breeding in many areas that are suitable habitats.

I know that I have recorded woodlarks in parts of Wales but still looking for evidence of

breeding there and we do need more good information from this area of the UK.

Many parts of wild Wales is suitable for the woodlark but there is major gaps in our

knowledge of the true picture.

Because the habitats in some areas may be in more remote than many people are used to they

may drive to an area and walk a few hundred metres to do a count of birds. This I should say

is worse than useless for recording woodlarks. To do a woodlark survey in an area you

need to leave the car with flask and grub and spend a fair bit of time walking and looking.

Best time of course is just after sunrise on a good day and sometimes it pays to sit down, listen

and wait then move on.

The song of the woodlark is much louder than that of a skylark so once you know the song

you will have no difficulty in the ID even if you don’t see the bird right away.

You can see the loss factor of this species 1970 to 1990 and this points to a decline.

More seem to have been recorded in the SE and South while below more in the South and
West including a few records from Wales.

The main map shows the winter records of woodlarks for 1983/84 but the new bird Atlas that

came out in the Autumn of 2012 did show a few surprises.

I am of the opinion that with woodlarks there is some evidence of Autumn movements and

even into winter so a local migration is possible and it may turn out that woodlarks from parts

of Europe also come here is small numbers when the cold sets in there. Winter movements and

surveys are also needed as on-going records of this species because to be truthful we do not

know at present the full extent of the range in the UK.

SHORELARK DATA.

Autumn and winter migrant, mainly to the East coast of the UK but has been recorded in the

Holyhead area of Wales and Ireland in small numbers. A lark of the shoreline, rarely inland

for any distance.

Has been recorded in the Scottish Highlands in the summers of 1972 and 1973 (July and June)

and a possible breeding record there.

In 1977 a nest was found in June (25 th ) in the Grampian area with young and males have

been heard singing also in summer.

So I would have to state that this lark is also a breeding passing migrant as well as a winter

visitor. The pale yellow forehead and throat in the males with a black band from the throat

half way round the upper neck area and a black band from the base of this birds bill and

down across the cheeks. Very pale ‘ears’ when erected and when in flight shows yellow olive
green wing-tips. The first known record for this lark was in the year 1830 in Norfolk UK and

since then a great development in range and records numbers but so far less than 20 records

from the SW of Ireland. From 1976 to 1986 there was a noted decline in the number of birds

recorded in the UK in winter, the reason not known but there is also a major decline in

Norway and Sweden as a breeding bird. Nests and roosts on the ground.

Ronnie Carleton

2015©