Birds and Nature

I think bird's feet are interesting. Even small birds like this Horned Lark have long claws--the better to grasp perches and food. I took the bottom pic further north on SH69 from where I saw the Horned Larks. The location has these interesting rocks as shown in the foreground while some mountains further north of the Wet Mountain Valley made an attractive backdrop. SeEtta

I spotted this Horned Lark while birding in the Westcliffe,CO area including Lake DeWeese. This is part of the Wet Mountain Valley, a high elevation (8,000 feet)mountain park, that sits between the Wet Mountains and the Sangre de Christo Mountains; This area is primarily ranch land with a lot of hay production but was originally short grass prairie. In the top two pics one of it's orbital tufts, referred to as horns (and thus the name Horned Lark), is erected and visible on the far side of the bird. Both tufts can be seen in the bottom pic though they are barely extended. I like to get good back shots like the bottom pic which are often not included in field guides or other sources. SeEtta