Finally!

I'm actually a little embarrassed by the fact that, until today, I had never seen a Horned Lark.  In spite of the fact that they are year-round birds in much of the continental United States, including New Jersey.  In our area, they are most often seen in winter - probably because they are ground feeders and the best time to see them is when the ground is covered in snow.  In fact, that's the only reason I spotted this flock of 75+ birds.  

I was driving along a country road, coming back from a quick duck-finding expedition when I noticed a very large flock of little birds in a mown farm field.  With a jolt of adrenaline, I realized that I was most likely (finally) seeing Horned Larks!  I veered off onto what I could only hope was a frozen shoulder on the road, hit my emergency blinkers, lowered the passenger side window, grabbed bins and confirmed my ID.  Then, it was a mad fumble for the camera and a fair amount of contorting around in the front seat so that I could aim my lens out the passenger side.  I knew if I got out of the car, they'd fly.  So, although this isn't my finest shot, it's decent enough and definitely works to record my first-ever sighting of this little songbird.  

Things at the NJ AOG Stadium are hopping with all the birds protein-loading in anticipation of 1) snow tomorrow, and 2) the start of the AOG in just a few short days.  (Probably more the former than the latter.)  I even spotted a single delegate from Team American Tree Sparrow at the Bistro this morning!  They featured in 2014 AOG, winning gold in the Downhill Swooping Event - do they have what it takes to make a comback this year?  Only time will tell...

And by this time tomorrow, with a bit of luck, Hubs and I will be on the east coast of Florida.  Where there won't be any snow on the ground - yay!!

Thanks for stopping by, and don't forget to check out the reports from the various AOG training camps around the world to see how the athletes are training.  Click HERE (#2018AOG)

TTFN,
Debbi