Wednesday, July 31, 2013 at 8:14AM Alauda arvensis arvensis
Common resident, nesting on all the principal islands, but not Grassholm. Abundant in winter in large flocks.
R.M.Lockley, G.C.S.Ingram, H.M.Salmon, 1949, The Birds of Pembrokeshire, The West Wales Field Society
Thursday, May 10, 2012 at 8:58PM The 1984-88 tetrad survey revealed that the Skylark was one of the most widespread breeding species in Pembrokeshire, being absent from only ca. 35 tetrads. During the 1988-91 National Atlas it was also found to be one of the most widespread breeding species in the UK. The breeding population in Pembrokeshire, based on an average of 15 pairs per tetrad, was estimated to be around 8,000 pairs.
Data from the 2003-07 Pembrokeshire tetrad survey indicates that the Skylark, as a breeding species, has disappeared from ca. 33% of the tetrads in which it was previously recorded. This represents a significant decline, which may be happening at a faster rate in Pembrokeshire than in the UK as a whole, as BBS data indicate that between 1994 and 2007 the UK Skylark population decreased by 13%. The breeding population in Pembrokeshire is now probably nearer to 5,000 pairs. The tetrad map indicates that large gaps in the distribution of breeding skylarks have opened up in the area to the north of the Nevern Valley, towards Poppit and Cemaes; in the area between the Eastern Cleddau and the Carmarthenshire border, and in mid-Pembrokeshire, away from the coastal strip and Preseli Hills.
The Skylark is a ground-nesting species, with a strong preference for open countryside, with rough pasture, heathland and moorland. In the winter, Skylarks utilise winter stubbles, ungrazed grassland, fallow land and coastal habitats such as sand dunes and saltmarsh. Reasons for the disappearance of Skylarks from parts of Pembrokeshire are likely to include changes in farming practices, such as from mixed farming to intensive dairy farming and cultivation of grass for silage, a trend that was alluded to in Donovan and Rees, (1994).
Winter foraging habitats may also have been lost due do the trend towards autumn-sown rather than spring-sown cereals, in which valuable winter stubbles have disappeared, thus affecting winter survival of the breeding population. The islands and peninsulas, such as Pencaer, St Davids, Marloes and Castlemartin, and the Preseli Hills are likely to become increasingly important as strongholds for Skylarks. Inland, old airfields such as Templeton, St Davids and Brawdy are hotspots for Skylarks, supporting relatively high densities of breeding pairs.
Jane Hodges
Fieldwork 2003-07 (based on 490 tetrads)
Red = breeding confirmed = 41
Orange = breeding probable = 227
Yellow = breeding possible = 15
Total tetrads in which registered = 283 (57.8%)
JEH, PBBA 2003-7 in Skylark Friday, December 23, 2011 at 9:37AM Breeding resident and passage migrant
Both Mathew (1894) and Lockley et al. (1949) considered the Skylark to be a common resident. Although still widely distributed it is probably less abundant now. There have been major changes in land management since Mathew's day, many of which have not suited Skylarks. A Camrose farmer has commented that they are less numerous on his farm than they used to be. He has converted from mixed farming to a large dairy herd with an intensive grazing regime and cultivates long silage paddocks which are not ideal habitat for the species.
The Breeding Birds Survey of 1984-1988 found Skylarks to be sparser on the dairy farms than in Mountains, the St David's commons and the offshore islands of Skokholm and Skomer. Allowing for this and taking an average density of 15 pairs per tetrad, the total breeding population is probably about 8,000 pairs.
There is a strong diurnal passage towards Ireland from late September to mid- November but no comparable visible spring return movement. This could mean they largely return at night, and they have been seen at lighthouse attractions at the South Bishop in late February and at the Smalls in March. They also migrate at night in the autumn, when casualties occur at the same lighthouses.
Skylarks flock during the mild winters normally experienced in Pembrokeshire, large areas then being devoid of them as they group in single fields or rough patches. Large numbers accumulate in the coastal strip during severe weather when many also pass through towards Ireland; for example, a count of a broad movement was made at Marloes on 26 January 1952 when 300-400 passed west in just 15 minutes (Conder 1954). Should the hard conditions persist many of those that stay may die, sometimes in thousands (Lockley et al. 1949). On Skomer, during hard weather in January 1962, Harris (1962) noted that large numbers of Skylarks were present but suffered little. A year later hundreds of weakened Skylarks were killed and eaten by Carrion Crows at Goodwick during the arctic winter of 1963.
Fieldwork 1984-88 (based on 478 tetrads)
Red = breeding confirmed = 68
Orange = breeding probable = 317
Yellow = breeding possible = 36
Total tetrads in which registered = 421 (88.1%)
Sunday, November 13, 2011 at 2:29PM 
Red = breeding confirmed
Orange = breeding probable
Yellow = breeding possible
Sunday, October 9, 2011 at 9:07PM 
The BTO winter atlas showed that Skylarks were present in most 10km squares during the winters of 1981-82, 1982-82 and 1983-84.
The darker the colour, the higher the relative total count for each 10km square. The darkest blue represents over 140 birds seen in a day.
The largest flocks were found where there was a good supply of seeds.
Graham Rees
Saturday, December 18, 2010 at 10:38PM Species account from M Mathew, 1894, "The Birds of Pembrokeshire and its islands"
