Helpston's wildlife

Corn Bunting

One of the more unusual breeding birds around Helpston is the corn bunting.

This very dumpy and rather drab bird also has a truly uninspiring song - it sounds something like a set of keys being repeatedly jangled [click to listen]. So ugly bloke, poor chat up lines - but clearly beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder as the male corn bunting is polygamous, keeping a close eye on up to seven females in his territory and ensuring that whilst he sings (badly) away from the middle of the corn fields, they get on with the routine of raising the young.

This strange looking and strange sounding bird can be regularly found in the fields east of the Maxey Road and also turned up in 2004 at the top of King Street.

John Clare called the Corn Bunting the ground lark and celebrated it in verse

Close where the milking maidens pass

In roots and twitches drest

Within a little bunch of grass

A groundlark made her nest

The maiden touched her with her gown

And often frit her out

And looked and set her buckets down

But never found it out

The eggs where large and spotted round

And dark as is the fallow ground

The schoolboy kicked the grass in play

But danger never guest

And when they came to mow the hay

They found an empty nest