Yesterday "Doc" and I, with great expectations, headed for Port Aransas. We were not going for Spring Break. We were there because it was mostly over and we could bird (look for migrating birds). It was a bust. They weren't there like they will be one day. There are a lot of days like that in birding. Still it was a good trip because of one little bird, the horned lark. There are only two species of true larks in North America, the Eurasian skylark on Vancouver Island, and the horned lark in the United States.We saw lots of horned larks.
Horned larks don't really have horns. Little tufts of black feathers stick out, looking a bit like horns. The great-horned owl doesn't have horns either. Same deal. Horned larks like the wide open spaces. These were on a sandy beach running along the intercoastal. Cars drive along there, but the larks survive. They even lay their eggs near such places, in a clump of grass or close to a rock if available. They love to run. Not hop. Run! You can get real close to them if you are not too aggressive. They used to be on Rockport Beach where the walking track is now. I haven't seen one there for many years. They are a pretty brown, black, and white bird. I haven't seen them do a courtship display but it must be dramatic. They soar up as high as 800 feet then circle in the air while they sing. Soar and sing! When they think the "lady" is watching, they suddenly tuck their wings and drop like a rock to the ground. Kinda' like a bungee jump with no rope! The Evel Kneivel of birdland! Similar displays take place among young men in the spring on the same beaches. If they could get that high and then soar down they would. When you go to the beach at Spring Break to see the antics of young men doing their courtship displays, check out the horned lark. He has a show that beats them all.
Some of this information came from Book of North American Birds, published by Reader's Digest,
