This is the kind of British list addition for which I scan the bird information services several times each day in the hope of something being reachable within my preferred distance range. I have observed (Greater) Short-toed Lark often enough on my past travels around southern Europe, but nationally they mostly turn up on passage in those far flung offshore outposts of the British Isles that I do not cover. So when news broke on RBA early today of one on farmland just 70 miles from home it was too good an opportunity to miss.

Such a record doesn’t occur too often after all and so offered just the sort of shorter-range twitchette that could boost a sense of wildlife motivation that had run a little dry towards the end of the preceding week. I duly arrived late morning in the Surrey village of Shackleford, between Farnham and Godalming. The said bird had been found in a ploughed field to its north-east (SU 93960 46691), and upon enquiring of a horse rider if she had seen any birders the lady replied a couple of dozen and told me where.

That suggested my quest must still be present and I would most likely convert it. Then after setting out on the mile or so walk along public rights of way, one of the first returning birders announced: “Still there and showing well.” On reaching the exact spot it took me some time to get onto this Short-toed Lark from other birder’s directions. But once identified it really stood out from the Skylarks, Meadow Pipits and Pied Wagtail it was associating with by its paleness and attractive patterning. It was noticeably smaller (actually 2cm in length) than the bulkier Skylarks, and just a little bigger than the buffer-toned Pipits.

Thereafter having got my eye in and become more relaxed, as so often I found myself relocating the bird time and again without difficulty. It moved constantly around the dry, bare earth expanse before us as it foraged throughout my stay of around an hour on site. So I knew it would be both difficult to attain and frustrating to attempt digiscoped images. Blurry, distant record shots were all I risked with my equipment today, but these (below) show how this bird was experienced. For quality images published on BirdGuides see here and here.

This small, pale lark breeds across southern Europe, north-west Africa then westward through Turkey and southern Russia to Mongolia. There are eight recognised sub-species across that range. These are fairly common birds of dry open country and arable land where they feed on seeds and insects and nest on the ground. All but some southern populations are migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa and India, but GSTL is a regular annual vagrant to north and west Europe in spring and autumn.

Eventually most of today’s assembly moved on, leaving just myself and a Surrey birder I have met on other twitches, then when the bird suddenly flew we too left. Rather than greeting people walking out from the village with: “you should have been here five minutes ago” we preferred: “You’ll have to re-find it but it’ll be out there somewhere”. And the STL indeed continued to be reported on RBA throughout the afternoon and early evening.

I suppose this all reflects what might be found if mixed passerine flocks on farmland are searched diligently enough. But I as always prefer to let others do the hard work and am grateful for a latest “within range” opportunity to merge an item from my European and West-Pal lists with my British one as well. They continue to arise if I am patient enough, and on this occasion as always gave that special sense of purpose to a day that hitting the road to see a bird creates. And the warm glow of a successful twitch, a feeling I have enjoyed too rarely so far this year, is still with me as I click the publish button now.

Footnote: As an added extra for the tripette, on my walk back to the car this very worn female Brown Hairstreak (above) landed in a Hawthorn hedge right beside me at the top of Chalk Lane in Shackleford where I had parked (SU 93559 45738). It was quite a surprise.