A bird long associated with an English summer, as they rise almost vertically to hover above open grasslands and fields loudly chirruping, before dropping like a stone back to the ground. These long and complex ‘song-flights’ can last for up to an hour and the birds can reach 300m before descending.

Ground-nesters, they are vulnerable to disturbance, which is why in London they are now only found on the larger expanses of rough grassland.

Look out for skylarks at Wanstead Flats on the walk from Wanstead to Royal Docks.