Woodlarks

I've just spent a third week feeling a bit too under the weather to do any birding, I can't remember ever having a cold for quite so long before. The prospect of seeing the Woodlarks that Gav found yesterday near to Colyton WWTW (sewage farm) was enough to get me out today though. I first popped over there late morning but decided to give it a miss when I saw a muck spreader in the field where the birds were, with a birder making a hasty retreat! When I returned later in the afternoon I would like to say I was surprised to see, but I wasn't, that the farmer had spread several loads of slurry in just one area of the field, that which the public footpath runs across. It's a very big field so I'm sure it's not a coincidence. Anyway having read about the Woodlarks on the Devon Bird News blog I heeded Gav's advice and just waited by the stile. There were thousands of Skylarks flying around due to the persistent attention of a female Sparrowhawk. I soon spotted a small group of Woodlarks not far from where I was standing. I had superb views definitley my best ever of this species. Gav joined me after a while and before we left we'd seen a total of eighteen (one flock of fourteen and one of four). I reckon once the weather warms up a bit they'll be back in the usual Axe Cliff  wintering area. That's anywhere in about a zillion acres of arable fields!! So I'm glad I made the effort to see them today. If you read Gav's blog ( and let's face it, who doesn't?) you'll know all this already and will probably have seen an ample sufficiency of Woodlark photos too! ;-) Oh well, I took a couple so.... erm...look away now!

I took some video too but they were a bit more distant.