I heard my first cuckoo of the season today (and first swallow spotted
yesterday)

Janet (Isle of Arran)

--
__________________________________
Personal site with eastern Maine and Yellowstone 2000 photos; new Lamoine
web cam: http://www.lamoine.dns2go.com/
Albums of Winter 2004 ice, winter work, and Yellowstone 2002:
http://community.webshots.com/user/plantplanman

Hey Janet,
there are rural spots in the south that boast skylarks, too. :-))


Then I suspect suitable habitat to be in the likes of Bodmin Moor and Dart
Moor, all well to the the south? I understand where habitat (sometimes)
may be more important than latitude, in the UK as well as the US. At least
with plants, and perhaps with mobile creatures such as birds. Either way,
what Janet describes is wonderful. Closest we have to this is the behaviour
of killdeer, at this time of year.

Scott who (finally!) enjoyed his first day of the season at 65F in Maine (a
very chilly corner of Maine)

The message
from "Scott L Hadley" contains these words:

Skylarks are new to me.

It's an insignificant-looking small (linnet-size) brown bird which
nests on the ground on moors and hills. They are shy and silent on the
ground; only while flying so high that you can barely see them, do you
hear their very long sweet high-pitched persistent zizzy song which is
the essence of glorious sunny spring/early summer in the rural north of
the UK. Someone wrote a great lark poem, possibly Gerard Manly
Hopkins...can't find it as books still in umpteen removal boxes (sigh)
awaiting bookshelf construction.

Janet.

Then I suspect suitable habitat to be in the likes of Bodmin Moor and Dart
Moor, all well to the the south? I understand where habitat (sometimes)
may be more important than latitude, in the UK as well as the US. At least
with plants, and perhaps with mobile creatures such as birds. Either way,
what Janet describes is wonderful. Closest we have to this is the
behaviour
of killdeer, at this time of year.

Scott who (finally!) enjoyed his first day of the season at 65F in Maine
(a
very chilly corner of Maine)


We have sky-larks here in rural East Sussex probably nesting in fields that
are not intensively farmed, but the numbers are much greater on the South
Downs where there is less farming.

It is the most wonderful sound that takes your breath away, because they
never seem to stop to breathe!
How do they do that? It's a bit like the circular breathing of a
didgeridoo player.

Marina

"cross" wrote
We have sky-larks here in rural East Sussex probably nesting in fields
that are not intensively farmed, but the numbers are much greater on the
South Downs where there is less farming.
snip

I'm in S Norfolk and when we moved to our present place in 1980 we used to
get skylarks singing over the arable fields behind us every summer. It was
lovely to listen to. Unfortunately I haven't heard them for the last few
years. :-(

--
Sue

On Sat, 1 May 2004 13:56:00 +0100, "Sue"
wrote:


"cross" wrote
We have sky-larks here in rural East Sussex probably nesting in fields
that are not intensively farmed, but the numbers are much greater on the
South Downs where there is less farming.
snip

I'm in S Norfolk and when we moved to our present place in 1980 we used to
get skylarks singing over the arable fields behind us every summer. It was
lovely to listen to. Unfortunately I haven't heard them for the last few
years. :-(

On the other side of the North Sea, the Dutch dunes in Zuid Holland
used to be full of crested sky larks, they've gone too.

Nice to see you again Scott. Other spring sounds here are the curlews
on the field beside the house; the crooning noise of the eider ducks,
skylarks on the hill above, and lawnmowers.

Janet

And thanks for the welcome back. I'm usually watching urg, especially all
winter, but not too frequent posting.--
__________________________________
Personal site with eastern Maine and Yellowstone 2000 photos; new Lamoine
web cam: http://www.lamoine.dns2go.com/
Albums of Winter 2004 ice, winter work, and Yellowstone 2002:
http://community.webshots.com/user/plantplanman

Hey Janet,
there are rural spots in the south that boast skylarks, too. :-))

Glad to hear it. I didn't mean to imply they were a northern bird;
only that in the north, where winters are longer/darker/colder, the
first day of larks singing marks the turn of the seasons. IMHO.

Janet

"Janet Baraclough.." wrote in
message ...
The message
from "Scott L Hadley" contains these
words:

Skylarks are new to me.

It's an insignificant-looking small (linnet-size) brown bird which
nests on the ground on moors and hills. They are shy and silent on
the
ground; only while flying so high that you can barely see them, do
you
hear their very long sweet high-pitched persistent zizzy song which
is
the essence of glorious sunny spring/early summer in the rural north
of
the UK.

Hey Janet,
there are rural spots in the south that boast skylarks, too. :-))

--
ned