Things You Need To Know About SKYLARKS!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 มิ.ย. 2024
- There aren’t many sounds that are more heart warming than a singing skylark on a summers day. These streaky brown birds are found in farmland, grassland and open countryside across a lot of Europe and Asia. They live in most parts of the UK, but are resident as far south as Portugal, north into Scandinavia and as far east as Japan. They have also been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii and a small part of western Canada.
Skylarks are slightly larger than sparrows, with a wingspan of 30 to 36cm and weighing around 40 grams. They have streaked brown and cream feathers over most of their bodies with lighter undersides. They have a crest of feathers on top of their heads and noticeably long claws on their back toes. Its thought that these might help them to stay balanced whilst they are standing on the floor. From their appearance males and females are very similar although male birds are usually slightly larger.
Skylarks are omnivores, their diet includes small seeds and grains, shoots and insects.
In the winter they will often move away from their breeding territories and form small flocks, but come April birds head to their nesting territories and become quite territorial. They will stay with the same mate for multiple years although they have also been known to be a bit unfaithful during the nesting season and to mate with birds that they are not paired with. They create a sup shaped nest on the ground, usually among long grass and away from tall vegetation, which allows them to spot any approaching predators. Each female lays 3 or 4 olive speckled eggs that measure just over 2cm long. She incubates these alone for between just 11 and 14 days, this is the shortest incubation period for any bird in the UK. Both parents feed the chicks in the nest and by just 11 days old they are able to leave, although they cannot yet fly. It takes around 20 days from hatching until they are strong flyers and shortly after this they will become independent of their parents. This quick turn around is very important for skylarks, they will attempt to raise 3 or sometimes even 4 clutches in a year. Their nests have a very high failure rate and by nesting so many times, they are increasing their chances of being successful at least once. After the breeding season is over, adult skylarks often move away from their breeding territories and join others in areas where there is more food for them over the winter.
Skylarks that breed in the UK do not usually migrate during the winter, but in some parts of their range, in northern Europe and Asia they can migrate south, sometimes into northern Africa and southern Asia. There are currently around 1.6 million skylarks in the UK although their numbers did decline drastically between the 1970s and 1980 and their numbers have still dropped by around 15% over the past 25 year. Its thought this decline has been mostly caused by changes in the timings of harvest and crops being planted meaning the skylarks don’t have suitable places to nest or their nests get accidentally destroyed by farm vehicles. They have an average lifespan of around 2 years with the oldest known bird living for 9 years and 10 days. No video about the skylark would be any good without showing off their most well known trait and where their name comes from. They have a habit of flying up into the sky and singing a beautiful song, throughout the year but mostly during sunny weather. Here is how it sounds!
#skylark #birdwatching #britishwildlife
Some of the footage and images used in this video were obtained using creative commons licencing. The originals and their licence details can be found at:
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The sound of a Skylark singing from on high can brighten any day! 👍🙂👍
I completely agree Sir Graham!
Great as usual Liam. I had not heard the Summer sound of a skylark for nearly 20 years near my home. 2020 they were back everywhere I went, I cried the first couple of times I heard them again. They are still here and hearing them reminds me of my childhood. Thank you Liam and keep being brilliant.
1000s in North Herts. Heartwarming sound that i find most uplifting❤. Another lovely video Liam, thanks
@531c Thanks for cheering me up, knowing that there are thousands of them, somewhere!
Am I the only one who always waits for the bird's record age and tries to guess it right?
Love this channel mate! cheers from Finland
Heard the skylarks this morning when I was digging in the garden.. Suffolk Coast
The sheer vocal power of these little guys belting out such intensly complex songs while flapping their wings like mad to hover way up in the air the way they do always amazes me!
My perfect time of the year is mid to late Spring on the Sussex Downs, full of skylarks. The sound, to me, is that of pure joy.
The fields around here are full of skylarks in the spring and summer - I love to hear their song, and always stop to listen and watch them flying higher and higher 💚 You missed a trick here, though, Liam - Vaughan Williams 'The Lark Ascending' would have been a great backing track for this video! 😄
You used to hear them at Ayr Show ( big agricultural show in the west of Scotland) held in late April at Ayr Racecourse. There was a large area of mown grass used for parking etc and they seemed to like it. Haven't seen much evidence of them in recent years even though teh show has returned to its racecourse home. At home on the farm they used to nest in a cow's pug ( foot ) mark where the ground had been soft earlier in the season.
Never seen so many skylarks before now. I’ve saw at least 10 singing high in the sky when I was at Bradgate park and I’ve heard them singing and seen one or two around my house too. I’m not too surprised as I’d heard their numbers had increased roughly 20% the last few years, but it’s so nice to have them around. Now we just need all the other once common farmland birds to return
Interesting that you have seen and heard many because I was going to comment the exact opposite. I too live in Leicestershire and not far from Braggie, yet it has been many many years since I heard one. Also interestingly, despite the supposed decline in the 70s and 80s; this is when I would hear them pretty much daily during the lovely hot summers we used to have.
@@baldyhead I know that they’ve been creating lots of fenced of nesting areas for skylarks in Bradgate so that their nests don’t get disturbed by dog walkers so that might be one of the reasons there’s so many around there. And I know that they’ve actually seen some pretty good years in the east of England where the largest recent population increases are.
And I’ve never seen as many around my local area either until now. A couple years ago you’d never hear them yet now I hear them all the time during the spring and summer. I heard plenty last spring anyway
Brings back a lot of childhood memories Liam, beautiful sound. Thanks for that😊
So relaxing when you shut your eyes on a sunny day breathing in the smell of freshly cut grass and sound of a skylark overhead.
Thanks Liam. A friend lives near to Wanstead Flats where the closest skylarks to central London live. They do indeed have a most lovely song. People are implored to keep their dogs under control during the long breeding season.
Thanks Liam for this vlog on skylarks, and how they got their name. Didn't realise how extensive their global range was! Great little birds. 👍 😊
as a child, i thought that it was just a name for a flying veicle of some sort. "all abord the skylark" i remember it being childrens t.v. but that is my entire memory, think i was 4, when the show whent off air.
i am not aware of ever having seen these birds or have missidentified it as a thrush (not seeing crest) but i have heard them, both in somerset and new forrest area
0:08 I can relate so much 😭
Such joyful little birds, I see and hear them on the chalk downs almost every day.
Fantastic Liam thank you
Easily my favourite bird song what a beautiful sound they make
Sadly there has been a massive decline of them here in south Staffordshire which is very sad industrial farming and the constant sounds of shot guns shooting pigeons every day of the year has almost cleared the landscape of any species of bird lapwing curlew Avocet all now gone 😢
See a lot of them when walking my dog between farmland and cliffs on the East Yorks coast, love to watch them soar & sing. When nesting they are brilliant actors and feign injury like having a broken wing a short distance away from the nest to distract you from the direction of the nesting site, awesome. Great upload!
I love the song of the skylarks. Another great video Liam. Thank you
I've heard that call before, but never knew which species it was. Thanks for the info as always.
I was visiting the UK for the first time last year and was in the Yorkshire Dales for a day. I heard a skylark singing and it took me a bit to recognize that it was straight above us, far overhead. The sound seemed to be coming from everywhere lol. Also, was immediately reminded of the opening of the Pink Floyd song “Goodbye Blue Skies.”
Thanks for this wonderful footage of skylarks in action. I don't get to see any of these in my neck of the woods (the US Deep South), and to say they are beautiful is something of an understatement.
Great video Liam and nicely edited with some fantastic footage. We get them here in Provence but not for another three months. Their song is a summer treat! They go berserk when we occasionally mow our fields.
Lovely little birds 😊. Strangely, they always remind me of airshows, as they seem to happily nest on airfields.
Funnily you are probably the 4th or 5th person to mention airfields in these comments. Seems like the grass they maintain must be a suitable habitat for them. Thanks for watching!
Happy as a lark - always wanted to see this bird, thanks for showing it to me!!
Thanks Liam, I saw and heard one yesterday !
Over Quarry / farm land.
Thanks Liam. Enjoyed the video as usual.
Used to see and hear a lot until the National Trust decided to graze Welsh belted cattle on the grassland that they nested in.( to preserve cotswold grass).
😢😢
Yes I hear a lot I live up in the lakes and there's a lot around the sea as well as the lakes thank you for that video documentary
Really good to see a video on the Skylark Liam 👍 The right time of year for it as these birds are back at their nesting areas now. I’ve noticed them where we are for some 3 weeks now which seems early to me. It’s lovely to hear them and a real tonic after the gloomy weather we’ve had in recent weeks. Very nice video Liam 👍🙏☺️
lovely
Thank you!
We moved into our village in S Warks in 82 and we often heard skylarks during the summer but for the past 20 years min we hear non or see them flying high. Likewise cuckoos, yellow hammers and collared doves to name a few. Farming practises must be to blame and pesticides. It’s time Defra sorted this out and restored a natural balance. JFDI.
Its strange as in the last couple of years, I think I have seen more of all of them birds than ever before, but that could be down to me visiting different places. But I do agree, the natural balance of things is well out of whack and some of the damage that may be causing wont be seen for years to come.
Another great video.
Nice one, Liam.
Thank you!
Didn't realise they were that small
Love to see one soon
They are deceptive in how big they look, but they soon dissappear when they fly really high. Good luck spotting one.
Thanks for uploading. This is yet another grea Informative info nice to see such lovely birds.
Love to hear these birds.
Its a beautiful sounds that takes me to summer days!
@@AShotOfWildlife Yes, roll on spring!
Nice one Liam. Skylarks are one of my favourite birds.
Thank you! I am glad you enjoyed it!
I knew that this would be a great video and it is! I couldn’t watch it when it was posted as I was getting ready for work. Worth waiting for!
Brilliant, well I am glad you got round to watching it and that you enjoyed it. Thanks!
Heard a couple on our lunchtime walk today. Still doing ok here in Bucks. Thanks for another great video Liam.
Love this bird and their song!
The weather in the UK lately has been pants, Been trying to get down to the south coast for a while now but every weekend has been windy/raining. Last year I was in the Forest of Dean going after the Goshawk... hoping we get a good weekend so I can get the Bearded reedling (Tits) and go to the Forest of Dean for the Goshawk too.
Good luck! I agree, I tried to film a video a few days ago but I have now checked the footage to find it is unusable because of the wind. I suppose it is still officially winter so its to be expected.
Thanks Liam, great content
Thank you for watching!
Thanks Liam, top notch as usual.
Thank you Liam for yet another wonderful video ❤
Thank you, I am glad you enjoyed it :)
The sound of spring , we have a couple of pairs in the field behind the house
Somehow you found another one that's been introduced to nz! Thought you'd covered them all. I think their song sounds a little different here
I wonder if there is enough appetite for me to do videos like that (Ten animals from the UK that have been introduced to Australia, new zealand, america etc)
They are very common in Burton wood near Warrington
Great….thank you for posting!
Thank you for watching!
👍👍👍👍👍
great vlog. Much enjoyed. todays birds on a walk, long tailed tits, robins, blue & great tit, coal tit, blackbird. love seeing birds, brings such joy.
👍
Hi Buddy! Great video! I'll be in Sunny Norfolk from the 13th of this month if you fancy a mooch! I'll text you!
Funny you upload this just as I see a skylark :D
Perfect timing!
Leuke weetjes.
Bedankt
Fijne dag, Jacq
❤❤❤❤🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 hi dear Liam ❤❤❤
👏👍🥰
Yo uncle wassup nice vid
Haha, did you learn anything though?
Amazed they don’t migrate. Never seen any in winter. Where do they go?
In the winter they do sometimes move to coastal areas and larger grasslands where there is more food for them. But I suspect the main reason people dont see them during the colder months is because they dont sing very much (unless its sunny)
May I ask a question ? What are your thoughts on falconry ?
You can ask any question you like. I havent really thought about falconry, but I wouldnt agree with it for hunting birds for sport. I think that if any animals are kept in captivity, they need to be looked after well and given the freedom to move around and act naturally where possible.