Seeing Skylarks

I was walking through the Outback with a friend and her young son when a Sky Lark shoot up in front of us. Careful I said, there may be a nest. Right time of year, right length of grass and I had been watching and listening to them sing high above me in the field. We did a quick search and, amazingly we found it. Tiny, much smaller than the palm of my admittedly small hands and inside there were three tiny eggs.

Wow.

It was woven from the grasses and incredibly well hidden. We took a photo of the eggs in the nest. They have if possible 2-3 clutches a year, they need this number to be successful just to sustain the population. Loss of over-winter stubble for food and early nesting sites is one of the changes to farming practices that has caused a drop in numbers. Judging by the amount of noise we have in the field I think we have at least three pairs if not more. I hope these three eggs hatch and survive, it’s a cold spring this year for them, the weather is all over the place and feels more like autumn at times. They will not however be disturbed by humans, so they have a good shot at life here.