April 24, 1980 - Horned Larks Are the Earliest Ground NestersSECOND SECTION
April 24, 1980
Horned Larks Are the Earliest Ground Nesters
I don't advocate getting up early every
day, but when spring is in the air and the
sun rises bright and clear it's hard to stay
in bed. Of course, my rising is predicated
on the fact of living out here on the end of
Long Island. Staying in a city I don't think
the type of day would have much to do with
it. I'd merely Full the covers over my head
and try to cut out the city sights and
sounds. But then it's all what you are used
to.
Right now, after a hearty breakfast and
a walk with the dog down around the pond,
I settled in an old outdoor chair to do some
writing. It's still cool and my winter jacket
feels good. Yet the one side of my face
feels that penetrating warmth of our
life - giving sun.
Way to the north across the open green
fields the Main Road's traffic can be seen.
This can only mean a busy day at the
fishing stations. It's going to be a perfect
fishing day.
Careless Nest Builders
Across the pasture I can hear the cooing
of the mourning dove. To some they sound
like owls calling, but no, owls don't call
during the day. Our mourning doves have
already started incubating. I've often
found their nests and must say they are
one of the poorest nest builders we have. I
guess it's like people some do a good job at
a thing while others do it only halfway.
Their nest is merely a handful of sticks
balanced on a limb. Usually not too high
off the ground. I think my wife, Barbara,
could do as well with a handful of twigs
she's been picking up off the lawn before
raking and depositing them blindly in a
tree. Sometimes you can see the eggs right
up through the bottom of their nest, giving
you some idea of how flimsy they are.
Doves are early nesters, but the bird
that beats them all and is already feeding
its young is the horned lark. I've mention-
ed this bird during my winter ramblings as
being seen in flocks out on the open fields
and along the sides of the road after the
snow plow has been through. They are
ground feeders and wherever there's open
land they'd be hunting for seeds. Actually
ft(snc�
OW M�&Naq
we're told the breeding horned larks we
have here are another race, other than the
ones we see during the winter. But for all
intents and purposes I put all the horned
larks into one group.
They are ground nesters and therefore
run the risks and perils of using that kind
of site. When the bird is on the nest its
basic ground color blends in so beautifully
with the surrounding area that a person
can often walk within a few feet of a
brooding bird without ever seeing it. On
the other side though, we find the problems
of ground nesters staggering.
Man - Caused Havoc
In the natural world there are always the
predators and this is all figured into the
scheme of things, but when man comes
along he upsets the balance and causes
havoc. The havoc here is pets -- mainly
cats. Eventually some become strays and
breed in the wild. Survival for them is a
must and it becomes as strong as the
instinct of the lion on the African plains.
And therefore the offspring of what was
once a lovely domesticated pet becomes a
terror to all that live in the wild. This is not
to say we shouldn't have cats. I myself
have one. But to have an unaltered cat or
let a cat go wild is truly an injustice to both
the cat and the natural world. Ground
nesting birds in particular are easy prey
for these clever hunters.
Other factors also play havoc with these
ground nesters. A single heavy spring
rain, like those we've had lately become
deadly. I remember photographing a
nesting horned lark over in Westhampton
years ago, and had hoped to take a
complete history of the nesting process
HORNED LARK - -Look for this ground nester in open fields, for it is
already feeding its young. Some of these birds will raise as many as
three broods during the year. Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
through a series of pictures. I'd spotted the
pair from my car with binoculars as they
fed in the field and with patience finally
followed them to their nesting site.
I remember that even then it was
difficult to find, for it was more than 300
feet away. When I went out to where I
thought it was everything looked the same.
But with persistence I finally flushed the
bird and set up my blind and photographed
it. My plans were to come back a few days
later but in the interim we had a
rainstorm.
When I did get back the nest was
deserted and the baby birds lay still and
dead, the result of a spring downpour that
had flooded the nest. My heart felt sick as I
saw the two parent birds moving about
while I approached and stood over the
nesting site. But I knew that in the natural
world these things were taken in stride and
because of the hazards this bird has in
nesting, nature has provided them a
second and third chance for completing
what it originally set out to do.
Checking the records we find that some
of these birds start in late February and
March to nest, which gives them an edge
on all our other birds except for the owls.
Perhaps through the eons of time these
birds have learned from experience that
they must start early in hopes of complet-
ing their nesting successfully. Too bad
man hasn't followed this example of
learning from his past experiences, for if
he had we might not be in some of the
predicaments we find ourselves today.
PAULSTOUTENBURGH
GREAT VALUES ON OVER 13,000 NEW
'80 FORD CARS AND TRUCKS IN STOCK
GREENPORT RIVERHEAD
BILL BALLAN FORD, LINCOLN- MERCURY, INC. J.J. HART, INC.
Route 25 Route 58 & Osbome Ave.
%s A
cg;i) FORD
DAr