Horned larks are already moving to nesting areas

Traveling across part of the desert open to human traffic, I was surprised to see a small flock of Horned larks fly out of a patch of weeds. They landed a short distance away and settled into filling their stomachs with seeds. After stripping a plant of the tiny, tasty morsels, they would run or walk to another weed and continue gathering.

I was surprised to see the birds in an area where they usually nest starting in May or early June. Usually, most Horned larks are found this time of the year in large flocks along roadways, fields or feedlots getting their food. These birds were in an area where the vegetation was short so the ground-feeders could harvest the seeds. So, the next day, I decided to drive around the Rexburg Bench to see if I could find some large flocks that often winter there.

I did not find any large flocks of hundreds of birds, but I did find seven small flocks of Horned larks with other species mixed in with them. The large nomadic flocks that usually winter on the Bench could not be found; the flocks near the roads were digging kernels of wheat out of the soft, shallow snow in the stubble fields.

As I traveled the roads, I found some flocks mixed with House sparrows, House finches and a few Snow buntings. One of the flocks appeared to have a Lapland longspur with it, but after the flock flew out into a field, I could not locate it to confirm its identity. Due to the lack of deep snow, the large flocks had dispersed, making it plausible that they may have moved out to the desert where they will nest this spring and summer.

Horned larks are the only native lark in North America, and their name, “horned,” comes from two small tufts of feathers on the crown of their head. These tufts are hard to see, but the males like to display them during their breeding period.

These small birds are truly ground dwellers and rarely perch in trees. The females form a depression in the soft desert soil and then weave a dead grass mat for the eggs to rest on. They also gather stones, dung and dirt clods and place them around the nest. It is unknown why they do this, but it is believed that they do it to keep the grass mat from blowing away.

During breeding season, the male stakes out his territory and attracts a female. His job is to keep all other males away from the female while the jealous female chases away all other females. The couple may raise from one to three broods each summer.

Nests are usually hidden under sagebrush or other vegetation. When the female sits on the nest, she will not immediately fly when disturbed but will run away from the nest before taking flight. She will also secretly return to the nest in different ways to keep the nest hidden from predators.

During the winter, as you drive along roads, you may see large flocks of birds fly up from feeding on the side of the road. Most of these flocks are the Horned larks. Rarely are they hit by cars because they seem to know how fast you are driving and fly off by the time you get there. If you drive slowly on country roads, they will allow you to get close enough to see their yellow throat patches.

As the snow recedes, jumping the gun on entering winter closure areas is tempting. These areas are closed to protect wintering and migrating big game herds. Please remember that the area from Highway 33 to Hamer Road is closed to human traffic until April 1, and the area from Egin-Hamer Road to Dubois-Kilgore Road and from Interstate 15 to Sand Creek Road is closed until May 1.

This is also the first spring that the Idaho Fish and Game has established an antler hunting season; it will start on April 14 on public lands. However, this does not allow entry to areas closed until May 1.

Please be careful out there and legally enjoy the great outdoors.