As we get further into the fall season, more Arctic breeders are heading further south in search of food. Some of those include birds such as Snow Buntings, Lapland Longspurs and Horned Larks. While driving around looking for American Pipits, we saw a flicker of small birds flying around an empty field. We did hear and see the pipits, but in this mixed-species flock was a nice surprise. This flock consisted of mostly Horned Larks, about 30 or so, but also was two Lapland Longspurs and a Snow Bunting. Some were cooperative enough to land on the side of the road so I was able to take some low-quality photos of the three main species.
Quite a few birds were migrating at the time, many Turkey Vultures passed overhead, as well as massive flocks of Canada Geese. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to locate any more unusual species in with the geese.