Skylark numbers?

[fudge]

Anyone else perceiving that skylarks are on the increase? I don’t count them, there are too many. This in lincs btw.

 

[Treg]

Anyone else perceiving that skylarks are on the increase? I don’t count them, there are too many. This in lincs btw.

Yes good number here in Cornwall. Been increasing the last 10yrs, (can here them singing as I'm writing this). First barn owl chicks here this year as well

 

[JP1]

Anyone else perceiving that skylarks are on the increase? I don’t count them, there are too many. This in lincs btw.

Yes I'd say it's not just on the downland that I hear them now. Love hearing them

 

[Sonoftheheir]

Yes, haven’t counted but at least 2 pairs in every WW field I’ve driven through.

 

[Frank-the-Wool]

Always had some, but far more now.

 

[muppet]

Lots here in Dorset. Can’t beat a sunny April day with the OSR in full flower and skylarks singing their heads off. Happy days

Just wondering, do skylark plots make much difference? Never had any here, but neighbours on both sides now do

 

[bovrill]

I've written this before, and I'm sure I'll do it again, but here goes:
A couple of years ago I was turning some wet swaths of straw over. As usual there were plenty of mice and voles being exposed, there were a pair of leveretts on one side of the 31 acres, offspring of the half dozen adult hares that were in that field that summer. Also were a pair of skylarks, flying as they do these days, low down and across the ground rather than gaining height.
However, above the field were four buzzards, two kestrel, and a sparrowhawk kept sweeping through, plus I'd seen magpies in the hedge along the side (I can't remember how many of them, I ought to do a search of posts because I counted them at the time).
What chance did the little wildlife have against that level of predation?

 

[bovrill]

Back to the original point, I've not noticed a marked increase, but then we've always had a fairly healthy (low flying) population.
With fluctuations for the season, obviously.

 

[Sonoftheheir]

Just wondering, do skylark plots make much difference? Never had any here, but neighbours on both sides now do

I don’t think they do, we had skylarks before ELS skylark plots and we had skylarks after. We’ve been out of ELS 2 years now, and we seem to have more here this year.

Our fields are roughly 5ha each and I estimate at least 2 pairs per field.

 

[Sonoftheheir]

BTW there seems to be many more bumble bees about this year?

 

[primmiemoo]

Feel the population is recovering in around here. There's an arable field neighbouring this holding that's had 3 different farmers at it in the last 20 years that's always had skylarks - except when forage maize was tilled. Now, it's serial wholecrop cereals, and looks as though farmed pretty intensively with it, yet there are more birds around again. Feel the current owners manage the hedges more sympathetically than the maize growing predecessor. Nothing is flailed to within an inch of its life, and the timing's right.

On this place, I'd say numbers are predictable and stable (allowing, as mentioned upthread, for seasonal factors.) Interestingly, there's more likelihood of a skylark singing over the main yard than there used to be.

No barn owls seen at all in the last 2 years . There's good habitat here, but the neighbouring place that had equally good conditions that the owls definitely used and where they also nested is now split, and a wreck of "alternative land use" and slippers income generating scams. . Owners te'bly popular with the local Daily Mail reading brigade [the pile of poo emoji isn't big enough, sigh].

 

[Y Fan Wen]

Really raw and damp this am and I could hear the cuckoo and skylark over the noise of the bike. Lifts the spirits it does.

 

[Gong Farmer]

Lots here in Dorset. Can’t beat a sunny April day with the OSR in full flower and skylarks singing their heads off. Happy days

Strange there's nothing on the news or from the RSPB on this

 

[Sid]

Always 3 or 4 up high singing from the field around the garden.
House martins back.
Red legged partridge around the lane again today.

 

[Green grower]

I think those who think wildlife is on the decline on farmland are looking in the wrong place here in south Lincs more skylarks than I've seen for years and as for hares we are lousy with them !

 

[Tarw Coch]

Strange there's nothing on the news or from the RSPB on this

Give it time, give it time, they're probably preparing a press release, something along the lines of despite struggling with limited funds they have managed to reverse the decline caused by the evil farmers and if only they had more money they could do so much more.

 

[Sonoftheheir]

I guess there would have to be a survey done by somebody somewhere?

 

[yellow belly]

All my fields have skylarks have always been the case

 

[YorkshireAndrew]

We’ve always had plenty of skylarks - I blame it on intensive farming practices . [emoji849]

 

[JP1]

We’ve always had plenty of skylarks - I blame it on intensive farming practices . [emoji849]

At a meeting the other night we agreed that post Brexit "intensive" / "indoor" farming practices would be relabelled "precision farming". I'm pleased to hear that you and your skylarks are already ahead of the curve