Larking around on Shore leave! 30th December

Shore Lark, "Eremophila alpestris", Bawdsey Suffolk 30/12/2018

I had fallen in love with Shore Larks ever since I'd seen some at Cley in Norfolk many years ago. That devotion has been shared at a distance though since I live in landlocked Oxfordshire and Shore Larks spend their time at the beach, not in the summer either, they tough it out in the cold and blustery winter months. It had been years since I'd seen any of the hardy little birds, apart from the American version at Staines in January this year, documented here American Horned Lark. Horned Lark is another descriptive name for the Shore Lark given owing to them having feathers that stick up on their heads like horns. Obviously.

The local birding scene had stagnated somewhat in a festive depression so after discussion with Mrs Caley we decided that we needed to get out of the area and see something more exciting and we opted for some Shore Larking! Now we had to choose where to go to see some since their were several possible destinations, all on the east coast. The biggest flock of Shore Larks had been wintering at Holkham Gap in Norfolk where around 20 were present along with a larger flock of Snow Buntings. Normally this would have presented a no-brainer but we'd already seen lots of Snowies this year so didn't need to go chasing them again. Also I'd read many accounts relating that the site at Holkham was greatly disturbed by hordes of dog walkers and other recreational folk and that the damage and disturbance created had led to the wardens erecting a fenced off area so that the birds could feed in peace. It didn't seem the type of place for us to enjoy some quiet birding so we plumped instead for a visit to south Suffolk where 4 Shore Larks had been seen at Bawdsey. To be honest I prefer Suffolk to Norfolk anyway, birding is much more relaxed there than it is in its more esteemed and popular neighbour. We'd never been to Bawdsey before so it would be good to try somewhere new as well.

We were up bright and breezy and on the road ahead of the 145 mile trip by 6 o'clock on Sunday morning. After we emerged from the fog just past Milton Keynes the drive was smooth on almost empty roads and we arrived 3 hours later at the almost deserted (good sign that!) car park next to the sea at Bawdsey. Not a beauty spot by any means, there are lots of dishevelled and dilapidated war defence buildings around the parking area. I had done my homework and knew that the birds were frequenting "the beach by the saline lagoon" so it shouldn't be too difficult to find them. We walked up onto the sea wall and couldn't see anything that resembled a beach! A large breakwater had been constructed here and stretched both south and north from our viewpoint, to the south there was a lighthouse type building and to the north a Martello tower. There was a large expanse of shingle shelving away from the tower so I took that to be the "beach" and so we headed northwards. The track along the sea wall passed 4 small freshwater ponds on which were a few wildfowl and a couple of Lapwing. Halfway to the tower a long narrow lagoon did indeed present itself in the distance and it became evident that I'd thankfully chosen to walk in the right direction. On arriving at the shingle I scanned the area and could see one other chap present but he didn't appear to be looking at anything so we joined him on the beach. In reality the beach was actually made up of small gravel sized pebbles rather than shingle but it was still hard going walking on it (a bit like walking in fresh snow). The chap ahead, who was sporting a camera, was now walking towards us, not always the best sign since it showed that he didn't have our quarry in view, we would meet at the southern end of the lagoon. About 50 yards short of the water I noticed some movement amongst the pebbles. A quick look through the bins and we had our Shore Larks! Not so difficult then. Tricky to see though since the birds blend in with the pebbles very well.

The 4 Shore Larks, well camouflaged on the pebbles!

And magnified!

Before long the birds flew northwards towards a grassy area further along the lagoon. We chatted to our fellow birder who explained that the Shore Larks were really flighty and wouldn't settle and that there wasn't much else around. As he departed back to the parking area, I reflected that maybe the birds were hard to pin down because of his fieldcraft (or lack of it since he had appeared to be "chasing" the birds) and thought that I could do much better particularly as Mrs Caley and I now had the whole beach to ourselves. I soon found the Larks again feeding amongst some sea cabbages at the edge of the beach. I set up Mrs Caley with views through our recently acquired and magnificent new Swarovski scope and then edged a bit closer so that I could get some decent record shots. Shore Larks are very handsome "little brown jobs". Their drab and typically Lark-like beige and sandy brown upper parts are offset by a stunning yellow and black facial pattern which renders them easily identifiable. They feed very deliberately on small seeds and are easy to observe once they're settled which they now were. I crawled up the shingle bank to get a few shots but a dog barking some way away had them alert and anxious again and they flew towards the lagoon.

I returned to Mrs Caley and scanned the lagoon sides and found the birds again feeding in the short grass there. The dog walker and his noisy charges were now on the sea wall on the opposite side of the lagoon and the birds were very alert so we just watched from a distance. To our good fortune they flitted closer to us, within 30 yards or so, enabling me to get some better photos of a species that I only had distant shots of before at Cley.

It was raining slightly, fairly typical Suffolk beach weather for us, but was unseasonably mild so not too uncomfortable. I sat and watched the birds while firing off shots when I could. Our luck extended further when the 4 birds suddenly flew up and landed just behind us on the ridge of the beach! Often it is far better to sit and wait for birds to get accustomed to you being in their environment than walk and "chase" them around. They were now just 20 yards away from us and we watched them at leisure.

The "horned" feathers are visible in this pose.

The dog walker and his dogs had now returned along the sea wall and the Larks were once again unsettled (a familiar story these days) and once again set into flight, this time flying off across the lagoon and over the sea wall. That was that then, and happy with the views that we had, we decided to leave and see what else we could twitch locally. We'd been on site for about an hour. On the way back to the car we met some newly arrived birders who had also come to see the Shore Larks (the benefit of arriving early is you get the birds to yourselves). All were naturally eager to know if we'd seen them and were happy to know that they were still around. A couple of Redshank and half a dozen Turnstones entertained us on our way.

Redshanks

Halfway back to the car and as we neared the freshwater ponds, I noticed some birds fly in and land on the parrelel track below us. On looking through my binoculars I was amazed to see the Shore Larks! It's as if they had decided that "hey, we haven't finished yet, take some more photos!". So I did! They were instantly disturbed by a jogger though but only flew a short distance onto an adjacent sandy track which gave us the chance to descend from our position on the upper track to a closer viewpoint.

The Shore Larks were now feeding on a grassy border between the sandy track and a muddy field. As we stood just 20 yards away all 4 birds actually approached us and must have voluntarily halved the distance between them and us, allowing me to get the rather comical action photos below. We were once again blessed with our own private show! Reward for our effort in coming to see the birds.

The Larks were now very settled, feeding both on the grass and in the field and appeared totally unperturbed by our presence. This was obviously a favoured feeding spot for them and where they go when disappearing from the beach. Because of their unobtrusiveness they probably go unnoticed by birders heading to the beach when there. I fired off frame after frame and got photos that far surpassed the ones gained earlier. 

The birds all stayed closely together and were not bothered by more dog walkers passing by behind us. The photo opportunities just kept coming!

The Shore Larks came even closer, posing incredibly well for us despite us being so close to them. 

The only time they got even slightly rattled was when a male Stonechat attempted to chase them off its "patch".

Stonechat: "Get off my land!"

After getting my fill of the Larks I wanted to gain the attention of the other birders that we'd met earlier so that they could get their fix too. They were in view but no amount of waving my arms in the hope of them seeing me worked and they stayed resolutely scanning the beach. Another couple of walkers approached and I asked them if they were heading up towards the beach. They replied that yes they were but had come to see the Shore Larks, so I saved them a walk! I still couldn't attract the attention of the other birders though so decided to go and fetch them instead. The Shore Larks were very settled so I left them in the safe hands of Mrs Caley. Luckily the other birders had given up anyway and at last I managed to get them to see my gesticulations. They joined us and were both delighted and grateful that we'd shared the birds with them. It's nice to do a good turn sometimes.

It was now approaching lunchtime so we headed off for a Sunday lunch finding excellent fare at the Coach & Horses in Woodbridge. There was a report of 4 Tundra Bean Geese at nearby Felixstowe so we made an attempt at finding them. And failed. After a half-hearted attempt at following up an earlier report of a Waxwing in Haverhill, on the way home at least, we gave up without finding that either and drove back to Oxfordshire. It had been a brilliant morning though spent in the company of the delightful Shore Larks, birding at it's best!