We were taking a walk on Coast Guard Beach the other day, looking for the Piping Plover, when we heard all this chatter up in the tall grass. Their sounds did not sound familiar, so we decided to investigate. And there was a Horned Lark scurrying around in the grass. How cool, as it’s not one we usually see.
The Horned Lark, the only true Lark in North America, is a small brown songbird with a distinctive head pattern with namesake “horns” which are little tufts of feather. Have you ever seen or heard a Horned Lark?
The Piping Plovers are back at Coast Guard Beach and what a treat it is to see them scurrying about. (Click on blog link for other photos.) Rarely do we see 3 of them so close to each other.
During breeding season, which is now, their black neck bands are more pronounced. The juveniles do not have a neck band.
This one looked like she was sitting on a nest as she scrunched into the indentation in the sand.
It is so awesome that these gorgeous birds come back here every year to breed. We are so lucky!
