Good winter for Shore Lark
12 Dec 2016
With its bright yellow face, Shore Lark is the most colourful of the larks that occur in Britain and Ireland. It is a scarce but regular passage migrant and winter visitor mainly to the east coast of Britain, arriving from its Scandinavian breeding grounds in October and departing in April.
Wintering numbers can fluctuate between less than a dozen to several hundred, with recent years tending towards the former. However, this autumn and early winter has been above average, with numbers building on east coast sites from mid October onwards. Particularly noteworthy was a count of 82 at Holkham, Norfolk logged in BirdTrack in November and a few inland sightings.
The species is rare in Wales and Scotland, but it is well worth looking in saltmarsh and shingle beaches, as well as on grassy mountaintops over the winter.
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