Holly's Blog - The sound of summer.

 Having fed the calves and pigs and taken the children to school in the pouring rain, I have to confess I was not very enthusiastic about walking up Doe Bank hill to check the ewes this morning.  

As I trudged along listening to the squelch of mud beneath my boots I slowly became aware of  familiar sound high above my head. I searched the white and grey cloudy sky and sure enough there it was , a tiny brown dot fluttering high above me , a small and insignificant looking bird with an incredible song. It was the unmistakable song of a Sky Lark.

 We are so lucky to have these precious little birds on the farm. Sky Larks nest on the ground and their numbers have fallen dramatically since the 1970s due in part to changes in the type of cereal crops grow. However simple measures undertaken by farmers, such as leaving several, small bare patches in arable crops and cutting hay or silage a little later, make it is possible for these birds to successfully  co -exist with modern farming practices . The song of the Sky lark has to be one of my favourite sounds and instantly transports me to those long hot days of summer here on the farm,  when the Sky Larks can regularly be heard as they ascend to the heights of the  huge blue sky with their uplifting song.