The Skylark
The Skylark
At this time of year, golden stalks of barley, wheat and oats sway along the rolling contours of the farmland all the way to the horizon. Carefully walking along the tramlines in the field made by the tractor wheels, progress is slow as I check the spiry intricate heads of the grains.
Borders of mixed sunflowers and wild flowers set against dark hedgerows define the field borders and puffs of dust mark the progress of the combine as the harvest gets underway. There is a timelessness in the scene which is both relaxing and comforting. Perhaps there is an unconscious knowledge in all of us, despite our metropolitan lives, that a good harvest means enough food for the winter and therefore survival for another season.
Looking up, relays of small dark brown birds, skylarks, rise almost vertically before effortlessly hovering perhaps 200 to 300ft in the air, singing for half an hour at a time before diving back down to the earth.
“till in the cloud she sings,
Then hangs a dust-spot in the sunny skies,
And drops, and drops, till in her nest she lies”,
Singing is their thing. If not singing in the air, they will also sing perched on fence posts or the remains of once tall but now crumbling trees. The most extraordinarily beautiful lilting notes emerge from these tiny birds – it seems quite magical and impossible.
Skylarks are part of our imaginative world too. Ella Fitzgerald sang about them; Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote a hymn to “this blithe spirit” as did Christina Rosetti whilst Gerald Manly Hopkins’ “I hear the lark ascend” which inspired Vaughan Williams to compose his own reflections on them in music.
Squinting in the sunshine, you can see that each bird has a small crest which can be raised when it is excited or alarmed and, as they climb and dive, you can glimpse their white-sided tails and wings which are more visible in flight than when stationary.
Skylarks can have up to four broods in a breeding season, laying their batches of three to four eggs on the ground. Their colours help them merge anonymously into the environment and, given the number of predators (foxes, badger and birds of prey), the chicks develop quickly, becoming independent in just two weeks. Sadly though, over the last 50 years, their numbers have declined disastrously and these amazing little birds are now on the endangered Red List of species.
The most commonly cited reason for their decline is modern intensive farming methods which have squeezed out areas that birds need for feeding and nesting. But it is also a sign of wider scale environmental issues such as the steady increase in urbanisation and the only way we’re going to protect this widespread species is with a more holistic approach to how we manage the environment in general.
Skylarks eat insects in the summer and seeds throughout the year so, for our part at Highclere, we leave some fields as areas of stubble and we drill direct into the earth which causes less disturbance in the soil.
Equally, where summer walking routes end, we ask walkers to respect that and not to try to go further, to keep to the tracks and to keep their dogs on a lead in order to preserve the nesting grounds.
If you stand on the castle lawns you can just espy the brick arch of Heaven’s Gate amongst the trees on the hill to the south. Built by Geordie’s ancestor nearly 300 years ago, I have always assumed it was named for the line in Shakespeare’s much loved sonnet no. 29 which begins;
“When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes,
I all alone beweep my outcast state,
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,”
This sonnet goes on to express how we are all wish we looked like someone else or had more friends: with what we “most enjoy contented least.”
I sometimes think it is exactly the same problem we see today with our endless social media – someone else has nicer clothes, better holidays, more friends. It leaves us disenchanted with our own lives.
Instead, we should be:
“Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth sings hymns at heaven’s gate;
For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.”
They are some beautiful lines and worth remembering. There is usually always some beauty in what is in front of us. This tiny unassuming bird singing away requires nothing from a consumerist society, just some time to stand and listen. Luckily at the moment, there are many skylarks at Highclere still singing hymns.
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64 Comments
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
Thank you once again for your beautiful observations - Skylarks were once as common as Sparrows in the fields, but not any more I'm sad to say......we have extensive farming around here in Fenland but very seldom (if ever) do I see Skylarks, it's tragic.....
Thank you again,
Caroline
Lady Carnarvon, thank you so much for this article! It brightened up my day. Beautiful as always! You are doing a very good job in preserving Highclere. You have done so much in making the place nice. The castle is like a fairytale from the floor to ceiling!
SKY LARKS
Not far away Laverstoke.
Origin of name ? Lauerstoc....place of the larks.
This was beautiful and exactly the thoughts needed to begin the week. Thank you!
When you describe your world around you it's like I'm standing right there seeing it with my own eyes. Thank you for this.
Good Morning Lady Carnarvon,
What a delightful blog this morning, a nice way to start the day! May the skylarks thrive and flourish at Highclere and beyond, bringing us their song and gentle reminder to be still and listen.
Janice Onieal
Gettysburg PA USA
Thank you for your conservation effort to keep Lark alive and thriving.
Beautiful Shakespeare, and your telling about the skylarks and the farming in the summer. Brings tears knowing life is so different these days, but you are caring what you have being given. Thank you for sharing your stories.
Yea Highclere area still wonderful place for Skylarks to live around as they are very rare, beautiful, lovely sounding birds. and sadly are on an Endangered List.
Lovely photos again and your Monday Blog details of another historic situation you & Lord Carnarvon remain focused on.
Good luck with those fields and Skylarks during season changes.
Lenox, MA 8-5-2024
Wonderful essay. "Still singing their hymns can apply to so many of us" now.
Thank you for the wonderful site. CL
Lovely picture of the sky fall and did you and lord Carnarvon have a nice weekend and lam fan of Downton Abbey and highcelere castle
I so much appreciate your sharing these thoughts, quotes and photos. Thank you.
As always, a beautiful read to start the week. Thank you for the lovely Monday morning essays about your lives at Highclere and life in general.
You have made me think of the first poem I learnt as a child that was written by W.H. Davies and begins:
‘What is this life if full of care
We have no time to stand and stare.’
…….and I often think as I am now getting a lot older, that we have all these time saving devices - as I remember a time before home washing machines and televisions but we don’t seem to actually have any more time ‘to stand and stare’ - where does all that time go? Thank you for the peace of your blog (an ugly word I always think and not at all reflective of what you write). I read them all but this is the first time I’ve been moved to respond. Thank you.
As a member of a 12 member womens singing group who sing a capella this speaks to me. It's a grounding happy activity that requires no money or position. More people should sing, regardless of ability. Good for the soul.
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
Thank you for sharing. I have read with my eyes, but with an attentive heart. May the skylark that flies through the skies soar on its wings and continue to serve as a guide to our imagination, subtly exploring the confines of our emotions and reasoning. Hopefully, the skylarks will multiply in our lives, and with their flight and song, take us through an introspective journey. May we be able to connect nature with our deepest noble passions and imagination in many places of this wonderful planet.
Kind Regards,
Simon Sanchez. Caracas, Venezuela
Wonderful post today! Listening to Vaughn Williams’ “ The Lark Ascending” years ago convinced me I needed hearing aides as the music disappeared before I knew it had ended!
Sorry, tapped send without finishing. (Comment re hearing aides
Lovely reflection!
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
A well-spoken piece again. It is such a lovely gift that you share with your readers each week. Thank you.
So beautiful❣️Thank you
Lovely the pictures of the skylark and did you and lord Carnarvon lovely weekend and l am fan of Downton Abbey and l lovely highcelere castle
I agree
Thank you
Thank you so much
Thankyou for this lovely blog.
It feels very uplifting and is a great reminder of how we need to enjoy nature and focus on the simpler things in life. I loved the peacefulness within the gardens when I recently visited Highclere.
How lovely is that last picture, to be able to be at Heavens Gate and looking down into the valley with the castle below and skylarks above. Beautiful! Thank you for your posts, I so look forward to them each week!
Many thanks Penny
Lady Carnarvon,
Your post this morning brought to mind the lovely sounds of birds in the early morning and at twilight, sounds few can imitate. May your skylarks continue to sing at Highclere! What a joy to hear on a quiet walk.
Martha G
Thank you so much so interesting ,
lovely read , very interesting .
Let the song birds sing… thank you Lady Carnarvon for making a stressful day peaceful again c your beautiful prose. Best regards
Laura Getman , Northern California
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
Learning poetry by heart has become a spiritual practice for me. One of my favorites, especially when I'm feeling sad, is Sonnet 29, which starts with despair and ends with hope and gratitude. I can feel the lift in my heart as the lark sings hymns at heaven's gate.
Thank you for the reminder.
Carol Giantonio
Eugene, Oregon
Bonjour Lady Carnarvon, c'est toujours un plaisir de vous lire et de voir de très belles photos pour illustrer vos commentaires, merci de partager vos journées avec nous.
Hello Lady Carnarvon, it is always a pleasure to read you and to see very nice photos to illustrate your comments, thank you for sharing your days with us
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
You so eloquently express exactly what my thoughts are…we must protect and treasure the wildlife that is sadly disappearing. The skylarks are beautiful birds whose numbers have been declining, and you, as a champion of environmental protection, are doing all that is possible to counteract the problems. Thank you! And good for you to mention the social media impact on people’s perceptions of their lives…comparing ourselves to others has always been dangerous. As Joni Mitchell wrote in her song Big Yellow Taxi… “ don’t it always seem to go that we don’t know what we’ve got ‘til it’s gone….They paved paradise, put up a parking lot.”
Thank you for all you do.
Kind regards,
Charlotte Merriam Cole
How very uplifting and beautiful! I really enjoyed this. Fabulous photos and text. Thank you Lady Carnarvon!
I heard a skylark for the first time last summer on a walking tour in the Scottish Borders, and was lucky enough to glimpse the little fellow sitting on a fence post. Such a lovely, magical heart-lifting song! It made me, a girl from the US, feel incredibly blessed. Thank you for your words today — they celebrate and remind in equal measure.
Hello Charlotte
I too think that song by Jone Mitchell is brilliant.
Thank you.
Best wishes
Lady Carnarvon
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
What a beautiful "heavenly" view you have from Heaven's Gate.
You and your husband have taken good care of Highclere.
Thank you for the wonderful memories I have of my visit in 2019.
The lines below have been bugging me all day since I read of the skylark and saw the evocative photos of Heaven's Gate. God bless you for stretching my ageing grey cells and getting a mundane Monday off to a lovely start.
Highclere is a haven for wild life and nature and wild flowers and sustainable farming; - how lucky are we who live here.
Hark, hark! the lark at heaven's gate sings,
And Phoebus 'gins arise,
His steeds to water at those springs
On chaliced flowers that lies;
And winking Mary-buds begin
To ope their golden eyes:
With every thing that pretty is,
My lady sweet, arise:
Arise, arise.
A truly lovely blog, thank you. I can still smell the sweet dust from the combines as we perched on a gate and watched the men working. My mother remembered taking 'slakers' to the men working in the family fields. I remember my father telling me to be very quiet and still so that mother Skylark could go home to her babies. Oh dear! I am going to weep with homesickness. Keep telling us of the wonders and the beauty of England..it means a great deal to those of us who are exiled.
Birdsong is Heaven’s gateway in my experience. That moment when you stop to listen and time stands still.
Beautiful thoughts to start the day. Thank you
Thank you. This article is graceful. I agree with the thought that we humans do not stop enough to contemplate nature and thank it.
Thank you Kerry
Thank you so much!
It is amazing isn't it?
You are very kind - we keep going!!!
Thank you for reading it !
It is a thought provoking sonnet -
Thank you for visiting
it is wonderful - it is not just ours
nothing better than standing still!
Very good for soul and social support!
Thanks Lady Carnarvon, here where we experience the cold of winter your blog has brightened up my day, I love the sound of birds early in the morning, they are not skylarks but their sound is a beautiful sound to wake up to.
Hear, hear! A respite to be along on your walk with the Skylarks. Thank you.
Thank you for sharying this lovely observation...written as we were standing together observing as old friends. Be blessed!
I spent some time listening online to this beautiful songbird. I could listen all day!
Living in the city and being in the flight path of an airport, these sounds are truly missed.
Sharing the chaff is essential as it reads in the bible. Blessings for a bountiful harvest.
A lovely and inspiring read thank you.
Is Heaven's gate within the area the public may visit?
I so enjoyed my recent visit and would love to return.
It is open Easter to August Bank holiday weekend every year
A delightful and wonderful read.
So Moving So Beautiful Thankyou
Dear Lady Carnarvon:
Thank you for this Monday's blog.
I enjoyed reading your informative story. While looking to the pictures, I could almost hear the Skylark sing.
Until next time, happy bird listening and watching.
Perpetua Crawford
Oh , to hear one again. Sigh…. I think they are gone from my area.
Thank you for this special remembrance.
So lovely. Thanks for sharing.