Nature smart

Horned Lark adult male at nest with young taken in southern MN

By Stan Tekiela

The overall population of ground nesting birds is steadily going down. Here in North America, we have hundreds of bird species who nest directly on the ground. Prairie birds such as Eastern and Western Meadowlarks are a good example. If you are older than 50 you most likely remember hearing meadowlarks growing up but today, you don’t, because of the population of meadowlarks has dramatically declined. Meadowlarks are a ground nesting bird.

Other ground nesting prairie birds such as Bobolinks and Dickcissels are also on the decrease. These birds were once very common and abundant, however our current day agricultural practices, which in an attempt to squeeze every dollar from every inch of land, has led to a dramatic decline in their populations.

So, with this in mind, I was thrilled to have a friend tell me he had found a particular ground nesting bird that I had only once before had a chance to study and capture some images. This ground nesting bird is the Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris). The Horned Lark is a member of the lark family and is found around the world in the northern hemisphere. It is our only true “lark” species in North America.

By all reports, the Horned Lark is classified as a “common bird in steep decline” just like all other ground nesting birds. The decline is attributed to loss of habitat, agricultural pesticides, early mowing or haying fields and roadside ditches, urbanization, human encroachment, and worst of all collisions with wind turbines. The Horned Lark is one of the species that has been impacted the most by the proliferation of wind turbines.

The name “horned” comes from a set of black feathers on the sides of the birds head that look like horns. The female also has them, but they are much less pronounced. Both the male and female are overall pale brown and grey with the male having a bold black and yellow face. The female is much duller. They have a black tail that really helps when you are trying to identify this bird when it is flying away from you.

The female builds the nest by first making a shallow depression in the ground. She then uses dried grass to weave a soft nest. After mating the female will lay 2-5 brown eggs with dark spots. They are one of the earliest ground nesting birds in the northern states. It is not uncommon for the pair to be done with their first brood by the end of April. This means sometimes the female gets covered in snow while incubating her eggs in some years.

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