Juvenile Horned Lark

Wednesday, 20 July 2016, was a day of adventure for me. I drove further than I have ever driven before (way, way SE of the city) - must remember to check my mileage when I next go out in my car, but it must have been somewhere between 400 and 500 km total at least. No big deal for many of you, but for me (and as someone with a driving phobia), it WAS a big deal : ) I am totally exhausted and my poor shoulder rotator cuffs are complaining like crazy. BUT, I had a great time - just a couple of moments of 'panic', when I thought I was lost, and when I noticed that I was seeing different wildflowers and definitely a different landscape.

I eventually left home at 11:00 am, a good couple of hours later than I had intended. I wasn't sure how long it was going to take me to get to where I wanted to get, so had wanted to allow plenty of hours for this journey. I had been on the road for about three hours by the time I got there, but did stop at various places en route. The first part of my drive was along familiar roads - called in at Frank Lake just to check the gravel road leading to the gate. An Eastern Kingbird was the only species I saw.

From there, I kept driving east on h'way 23, stopping briefly to photograph one of my favourite old houses. This highway eventually bends southwards and leads to Vulcan. I had only ever once driven as far as Vulcan, and that was on 30 March 2015. I had to stop again, like last year, and take a few photos of the cluster of old sheds, barn and house on the edge of Vulcan, before continuing on my way. From here until I reached my destination, was all new to me. Exciting and anxiety-causing, all at the same time. I drove further east and then turned south and found myself in a different kind of landscape, with a few interesting birds and plants to see and photograph, including a Ferruginous Hawk (three, actually) and wild sunflowers that lined the edge of one of the roads. I was barely able to get a photograph of these bright beauties, as it was too windy. I was in tall wind turbine country - which told me how far south I had come. The colours of some of the fields were unusual, too. Along one road, I had a Swainson's Hawk who perched nicely on a fence post at first and then circled overhead and followed my vehicle further down the road. Think it may have been a juvenile, screeching for its parents to come and feed it. Also saw a Mourning Dove on a fence post and what I think must be a juvenile Horned Lark. I'd never seen a juvenile before. Actually, there were a lot of Horned Larks this day, flying fast from one side of the gravel road to the other and flying along the road in front of me as I drove. Except for this single bird - it was walking along the edge and then stopped in its tracked while I grabbed a few shots. I tend to forget that we can see them in summer time.

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Horned_Lark/id

After travelling westwards and then north and west again, I found myself heading towards Frank Lake. It was along this road that I spotted some kind of shorebird perched on a fence post. Too late to stop, so I turned around and then slowly drove back to the bird - a Marbled Godwit, giving me a nice, sideways pose. It was still daylight, so I decided to try one more time along the gravel road leading to the gate at Frank Lake. Here, I had another nice sighting - friend, Debbie : ) Good to see you and have a nice, long chat. A great day with an enjoyable ending.