This last weekend we went with some friends to the "Lark Plain", an area about 30km north of Arusha known for it's abundance of different species of birds from the lark family. There are apparently nine different types of lark, one of which is endemic to the small area (Beasley's Lark). It isn't a park or formal protected area, though it is quite open and there is a small signpost from the main highway.
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| A short-tailed lark. Larks are typically medium sized ground birds with nice songs and feed on insects and seeds. Their dull color provides them with excellent camouflage in dry areas. |
The landscape on the Lark Plain was beautiful though arid and hot. One of our friends is a tour operator so we used his safari jeep to tour around. We parked and then walked for a few hours until we couldn't manage the heat any longer
It was a real hot day but the clear skies gave us a good view of the north face of Mt. Meru. We saw a lot of nice birds as well as an unidentified half eaten/half rotted carcass. We stayed well covered and hydrated so it wasn't until about 1pm that the heat became too much. There weren't any "trails", rather there were a few areas where some acacias were scattered together and some faint trails made by nomadic Masai and their cattle. The day hike was a total success, though there are more larks we didn't see so we'll have to come back again!
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| Checking the guide. |
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| Unidentified half eaten carcass. |
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| Setting out on the plains. |
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| Our friend Philip gets a real nice shot. |
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