Birding: Lark Plain Trip III

It's not called the lark PLAIN for nothing, there is a lot of plain. 

We finally got an opportunity to return to the Lark Plain, a unique habitat north of Arusha which is home to an endemic and rare species of lark, the Beesley's Lark. We have come twice before (Trip I, Trip II) and had never seen the lark, though we were told that it is only found in a very specific area and that we'd have to go with someone that knew exactly where to find it.

Well, we organized with one of our old friends who happens to be likely the best birder we know in Tanzania. It had been a long time since we'd gone out together so we were happy to see him. He also brought one of his friends as well, who was a welcome addition. Both had been to the Lark Plains several times so I felt confident we'd have a successful trip!

We left Arusha early at 7AM, which is critical since the Lark Plains can get very toasty. The plains are located on the north side of Mt. Meru so we were in luck as the clouds created by Mt. Meru provided some shade during the morning.  It was an overcast day with some brief rays of sun which was the perfect kind of weather.

Sure enough, we found the Beasely's Lark and a bunch of other nice birds. Some wild Thompson's Gazelle and Hartebeest ran through the area contrasting with the domesticated cows led by Masaai and the plains seemed to stretch on endlessly. Mt. Meru didn't show its face but the clouds constantly rolled off the mountain. We also learned that the road we took can lead us all the way to west Kilimanjaro so if we ever fancy taking the "long way" to Arusha, we now know the way!

Larks are found on the ground, so I think we were looking at something else here.

A nice cloudy day on the plains.