Over 2000 Birdwatchers have visited the Dungeness RSPB nature reserve over the past week to try to view the crested lark bird which has been seen for only the 3rd time in Britain in the past 35 years.
The crested lark was seen at Dungeness National Nature Reserve in Kent on Wednesday 29th April. A Spokesman for the Romney Marsh Countryside Project, Owen Leyshon, said the rare bird was similar to the more common skylark but “slightly plainer and a different shape”.
Owen added: “It will have crossed over the Channel from France. They are not rare in Europe, but they are here as they are a non-migratory bird and do not usually like flying over water”. He also said that the crested lark was “quite secretive and flighty so it’s hard to get prolonged views of it on the ground. It’s quite an amazing spectacle to see hundreds of birdwatchers running across the shingle chasing it.”
The last sighting of a crested lark in Britain was 12 years ago. The sighting before that was in Dungeness in 1975.
Source: BBC Kent News website – http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/8030713.stm
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Tags: Crested bird, Crested lark, Dungeness, Nature Reserve, Rare bird, RSPB
May 10th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
I’d imagine there would be quite a few of these birds that would slip under the radar and come to Britain unnoticed or not get the media coverage.
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July 24th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
If it doesn’t like flying over water will it be able to get back to france? Guess it is a rare sight though