One of my hobbies has been birding and I always enjoy discovering a new bird. So, on my last fishing adventure a snowy morning kept me inside for a while and a flock of LBBs (little brown birds) landed and began feeding on the ground. I had no clue what they were. As you can see by my grainy photos it was still difficult to identify. Since I was next to water, I kept thinking that they were plovers. Nope. Sparrows? Nope. My knowledgeable friends already know what this bird is even in my poor photo. Turns out my new discovery was a Horned Lark. This bird is seen everywhere in North America, although apparently their numbers are declining. It has such distinct markings with the mask on the head and the yellow throat that I will be able to readily identify it in the future. Turns out that these birds nest all the way to the Artic Ocean across Canada and Alaska. In 2018 the frozen carcass of a 46,000-year-old Horned Lark was found in the permafrost in Siberia. So obviously, I just haven’t been paying close enough attention to the LLB’s foraging on the ground. Artwork by Llona
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