Skylark  (Alauda Arvensis)

The move to more intensive farming methods is thought to be the main cause of the decline in the skylark. The chief reason is the move from spring to autumn sown crops because, in spring, these crops quickly become too tall and dense for skylarks. Crops sown in spring are still short and thin enough to provide suitable nesting and foraging habitat. Autumn sowing has led to a decline in stubble fields available during the winter months and so reduced the availability of grain and weed seeds. Increasing use of agri-chemicals has reduced the invertebrate populations on which the birds depend for food in the breeding season.

Despite a substantial reduction in population size, the distribution of the skylark has remained fairly constant and the species is still one of our most widespread and familiar birds. The skylark is the subject of an action plan managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), with other partners including English Nature, the British Trust for Ornithology and the Joint Nature Conservancy Council (JNCC). The objectives of the plan are to stabilise the skylark population, and maintain the present breeding numbers of around 2 million pairs. The plan aims to achieve this by encouraging more environmentally friendly methods of farming, including a reduction in the use of agrichemicals. Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is required, however, if these targets are to be met. The RSPB is currently trialling a project to encourage farmers to leave 'scrapes', or bare patches, when drilling crops in autumn, to improve the spring nesting conditions for skylarks. These 'scrapes' would be made by lifting the seed drill, so that the sward height preferred by the birds would be achieved. These potential nesting sites would be created away from the vehicle access 'tramlines' and the edge of the field, as these tend to be patrolled by potential ground predators.