Subject: Streaked Horned Larks and Merlin
Date: Sep 28 20:52:15 2001
From: Kelly Mcallister - mcallkrm at dfw.wa.gov


Tweeters,

Today, I got to view a flock of Streaked Horned Larks at McChord Air Force Base.
There were at least twenty though it was difficult to count as they flew around
the vehicle, some landing in the sparse grass. As I was getting out of the vehicle, a Merlin
appeared and scattered the birds, a few dropping to the ground in apparent fright. One lark
allowed us to approach to within about 10 yards. It had black streaks on the breast (a feature
shown well in the Sibley guide) but no black streaks on the back (a feature described in
Jewett, Taylor, Shaw, and Aldrich but not illustrated in Sibley). I was most struck by the
soft and rich rose (purply pink?) on the shoulder. I don't know what sex and age it was.
It didn't match well with any illustrations in books I have.

The area obviously had shallow or virtually no soil and the rocky ground supported a thin
layer of moss and sparse grass cover. I immediately remembered a very old paper (by Bowles
I believe) that described Streaked Horned Larks nesting on the Tacoma Golf Links. This
paper mentioned the moss and rocky ground in the areas where the larks were most regular.
Given how common Streaked Horned Larks were reported to be in the prairies of Pierce and
Thurston Counties, I have to marvel at the changes that have occurred, the obvious ones
being homes and imported turf, pavement and encroaching forest. But, also, there are likely
factors that have affected the very nature of the ground, livestock depositing manure,
perhaps even nitrogen deposition from the atmosphere, a result of air pollution. These things
may well have created environments conducive to growth of many more varieties of plant life,
including the many exotic species like turf-forming grasses that spelled the demise of most
prairie plant communities and the animals that were strongly tied to them. It's sad, really.


Kelly McAllister
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Olympia, Washington
Reply to: mcallkrm at dfw.wa.gov