Merlin v Skylark

Saturday saw the last session of this years habitat management program.
We had only just arrived and about to get to work when we were alerted to a Skylark singing overhead. Hot on it's tail was a Merlin! The Skylark sang as it spiralled higher and higher with the Merlin also trying to gain a height advantage. The Skylark was the first to break away, still singing loudly and heading over the wood. The Merlin folded it's wings back and followed the Skylark in a steep dive till both were lost from view.
A fantastic start to the day and a first for me.
This winter, the scrub clearance has been concentrated mainly on an area parallel with the railtrack which will create more grassland that will hopefully prove irresistible to Grasshopper Warblers, Willow Warblers, Chiffchaffs and Reed Buntings. A small area cleared of Blackthorn has revealed a hidden pond that has been created by water drainage from nearby fields. We have seen Redpolls and Siskins feeding on the Silver Birches here so this may provide a drinking area for these small finches.
There will be some pictures of our work uploaded to the website soon.