When you travel to Cape St. Mary's to view birds, the Horned Lark is not the species that you think of first. Nevertheless, it may well be the first species you see on the drive in or in the parking lot or grounds in front of the Interpretation Center.
I travelled with another birder on Saturday to Cape St. Mary's and the whole Southern Shore on Saturday. The trip was filled with excitement as one species after another tested our ability to find them and identify them.
When we arrived at Cape St. Mary's to view the main event of all of the sea birds (more on this in another post), we were greeted by two Horned Lark. While I had great views my pictures left a lot to be desired. Don't quite know what happened but I am guessing that I left all of my settings on those set on my last birding outing when it was cloudy. This day was bright, very bright and sunny all day. That was our first rarity!
This was my first look at a Horned Lark in the Spring. Its colors seemed to be a little more bright at this time of the year. I hadn't realized that there was so much yellow but it really stood out in the lighting of the day.
There was another birder there when we arrived and with a bit of luck he will post his pictures of the Horned Lark which I am sure will show much more detail and clarity. As we drove out of the Cape St. Mary's road we found two more Horned Lark feeding near the side of the road. They are not easy to spot so it is best to watch for movement.
