Western Meadowlark Take OffWestern Meadowlark Take Off – Nikon D810, f6.3, 1/2500, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

Working on moving my photos to my new galleries has been exhausting but because of that work I have found images I had forgotten about, some of them are gems, some are not.

Yesterday I found this Western Meadowlark take off photo that I took last year on Antelope Island State Park. Getting images of Western Meadowlarks in take off positions or in flight has been challenging because these birds move so fast. Let me clarify that by saying it is challenging to get sharp images of them taking off, I have taken plenty that are a blurry mess. Even at 1/2500 I still have motion blur in the wings in this photo but I like the pose, the great eye contact and how the background color echos some of the hues in the meadowlark’s plumage.

The meadowlarks here in northern Utah sing most of the year but lately they have begun to sing louder, longer and more exuberantly. They know that spring has arrived, even though it snowed yesterday, and that their mating season has too.

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to see more of my Western Meadowlark photos plus facts and information about this species.