For a day that the weather forecasters said would be “Sunny” this morning sure didn’t start off that way. In fact, for the first hour or more the light was very wishy-washy. The clouds were thick to the east and blocking the sun. But… when the sun finally did start to shine one bird made the bad light earlier worth it.

Perched Lark SparrowPerched Lark Sparrow – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/1600, ISO 640, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light

This is the closest I have been to a Lark Sparrow (Chondestes grammacus) to date and this was a very cooperative bird too! I had seen my FOY (first of year) Lark Sparrow last week and hoped that this year I’d be able to get closer and better images of the species.  Got it!

Lark Sparrows have bold harlequin facial patterns, a single dark breast spot (not visible here) and a long dark tail with white corners making them amongst the easiest sparrows to identify. Lark Sparrows breed here in Utah in sage flats and grasslands, they spend their winters in the southern U. S. to southwest Mexico.

I think they are handsome sparrows. Perhaps my luck in photographing them is changing.

Mia