We walk into the forest, looking for large crossbills. Searching probably increases the chance of a find, but not of the thing sought. The biblical prophecy ‘seek and ye shall find’ therefore requires creative interpretations. Who does not know the story of the bodhisattva who in his old age gave up his quest for nirvana and promptly saw the light? Don’t you know? It is in a booklet by Janwillem van de Wetering. I once spent weeks checking the doormat for a desired letter. When I gave up, it was there.
You may not find what you’re looking for, but you always find or see something. Serendipity.
We walk through woods and heathland, see glossy tits, black woodpeckers, a great gray shrike, courting sparrow hawks, courting buzzards and courting woodlarks.
The yodelling vocals of the latter stand out. We scan the blue above the pines and see small birds flying around frantically. Some perch in a treetop. Others descend like parachutes to the moor, while singing loudly. “Twie-twie-twie, woo-woo-woo.” In 1758, Linnaeus heard ‘luloela’ in it, which is the bird’s Latin genus name Lullula yielded. With that Lullula arborea one of three Dutch birds to sing its scientific name.
Woodlarks have the subtle light brown beauty of skylarks, but have more contrasting markings with a clear eye stripe. In addition, their tails are endearingly short. Like skylarks, they nest on the ground, but they do so near a forest edge. Skylarks, on the other hand, keep their distance from forest edges. Both species get spring in their cups in February and March.
When I went birdwatching in the late 1970s, skylarks were plentiful and woodlarks were rare. Meanwhile, the former have been decimated, while the latter is on the rise.
No large crossbill to be found. Satisfied we leave the forest.
Three times a week, biologist Koos Dijksterhuis writes about something that grows or blooms. Read his previous Nature Diaries here.