I just wanted to share a few pages from my winter field notes...
If you have ever noticed small flocks of 10-30 birds that scatter from midwestern country roads as you drive by on a winter day it is very likely you are seeing Horned Larks.
Another common winter bird is the Dark-Eyed Junco, we typically get Slate-Colored Juncos, but I recently had a western subspecies, the Oregon Junco show up in Illinois.
I always enjoy watching the Red-Headed Woodpeckers collect acorns in recently burned oak forests.
Do you get Lapland Longspurs or Snow Buntings in with all those Horned Lark during winter? I don't know where you are located but around here SW INdiana we do the the other birds mixed in with Horned Lark. Keep an eye out.
ReplyDeleteI am in central Il, most of our flocks are dominated by horned larks with small numbers of lapland longspurs and the occasional snow bunting!
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