Horned Lark

Gallery: AvianPosted February 27, 2010192 views27 comments

Eremophila alpestris

This was taken last Saturday in Tooele County, UT. We only had a few seconds with this bird.

D200, lens resting on pickup window, f7.1, 1/1250, ISO 400, 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, Ev +0.3, 56% of original image. I cloned out two pieces of bird pooh to the right and left of the bird's feet and an OOF grass stem in the bird's ventral area.

As always, I sincerely appreciate your comments & critiques. Thank you for looking.

Comments

27 comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on February 27, 2010 at 10:47 AM

Really like this Mia. Muted colors throughout, nice simple but attractive perch and an alert pose are some of the highlights. You capitalized on the few seconds you had.

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by Charlie VanTassel on February 27, 2010 at 10:59 AM

I thought Pooh was a bear. I don't think I've ever seen one of these birds more than an inch or two off of the ground. Nice to get this one up and looking so alert.

Registered on October 18, 2006, 644 Posts, 4801 Comments

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on February 27, 2010 at 12:01 PM

Great that you caught him up on the rock! I like the soft colors and the hint of the one horn. Sharon

Registered on November 1, 2003, 392 Posts, 4810 Comments

Comment posted by Kirk Greene on February 27, 2010 at 12:39 PM

Very nice, clean image of this species. I have observed them on occassion from a distance but never come close to a decent image. You captured it's striking features very well!

Registered on May 12, 2004, 191 Posts, 1578 Comments

Comment posted by Andrew Sentipal on February 27, 2010 at 1:00 PM

Beautiful bird. Nice perch too. Great job

Andrew

Registered on February 16, 2008, 200 Posts, 317 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on February 27, 2010 at 1:55 PM

A very nice shot and a lovely color palette. I especially like the capture of the delicate yellow wash on the Lark's throat. The OOF dead grasses add a lot as well. In a few more months, these guys will be heading to Alaska to breed. Can't wait.

The perch looks like a large oolite; is this along the Great Salt Lake?

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by Monica Siri on February 27, 2010 at 1:58 PM

Mia,
beautiful and delicate image of this nice bird.

Registered on September 20, 2009, 132 Posts, 3764 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on February 27, 2010 at 2:07 PM

Jim,

This was in Tooele county not too far from the town of Granstville near the Stansbury Mountains. As the crow flies it is approximately 11 miles to the closest part of the Great Salt Lake.

Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments

Comment posted by Laura Stafford on February 27, 2010 at 2:11 PM

Very nice detail and pose.

Laura Stafford

Registered on November 3, 2009, 52 Posts, 375 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on February 27, 2010 at 2:44 PM

Very subtle and quite nice. I'm still trying for an opportunity to get one up on something close enough to shoot.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by Roy Bailey on February 27, 2010 at 3:01 PM

Great bird realy well captured I like the rock hint of habitat but mostly the pose, eye contact and delicate sharpness.

Registered on November 16, 2008, 24 Posts, 486 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on February 27, 2010 at 3:58 PM

I like the soft colors in this Mia. Another typical pose I see these guys doing. I like the rock also

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on February 27, 2010 at 8:05 PM

Getting back to your Florida motif route with muted colors and low angles. Only nit is the OOF vegetation right in front of the bird

- Luke

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on February 27, 2010 at 8:17 PM

Great detail and light Mia. Wish to not heae the oof branches in the front but a few seconds doesn't give you choice. great capture

Registered on June 30, 2009, 300 Posts, 5051 Comments

Comment posted by KC Choo on February 27, 2010 at 8:22 PM

Very nicely perched and well captured, but the OOF grass in front of the bird is a bit of a shame.

Registered on November 15, 2004, 519 Posts, 8278 Comments

Comment posted by Michael Lotito on February 27, 2010 at 9:31 PM

Very nice image!

Sharp and on a great perch.

Very nice details in the bird.

Registered on June 26, 2009, 181 Posts, 1558 Comments

Comment posted by Danny Shelton on February 27, 2010 at 10:03 PM

Very nice.

Registered on October 2, 2007, 14 Posts, 1029 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on February 27, 2010 at 11:29 PM

Nice, Mia. I saw a bunch of these this week at the Very Large Array radio telescope in New Mexico, but hadn't planned on photographing that day and didn't come away with a decent image. Nice job on the exposure. I like the way the subtle colorations come through and the sense of habitat is perfect.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on February 28, 2010 at 1:10 AM

Really nice portrait of this lark Mia, I like the cool colors.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by István Molnár on February 28, 2010 at 1:30 AM

Nice composition,and nice colors.
István

Registered on January 7, 2010, 114 Posts, 704 Comments

Comment posted by Mauro Pasquero on February 28, 2010 at 5:03 AM

I like very much the portrait of this bird, Mia. In the larger version you can really appreciate the tender colors of his plumage.
Mauro

Registered on January 21, 2010, 650 Posts, 2500 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on February 28, 2010 at 6:55 AM

Love the muted tones here Mia and the alert pose.

cheers
Rob

Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on February 28, 2010 at 7:40 AM

lovely soft tones, nice pose and comp. I'd be tempted to remove the piece of grass that crosses so close to the breast and bill.

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by David Sparks on February 28, 2010 at 9:50 AM

Outstanding capture of a beautiful bird. I like the colors of the BG for the Lark. I'm also appreciative of the ability to examine the colors and texture of the feathers of the head and neck in your image.

Registered on May 26, 2007, 290 Posts, 4270 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Balke on February 28, 2010 at 12:04 PM

The color matching throughout this image combined with the lovely pose and detail in the bird are really outstanding, Mia.

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments

Comment posted by Matt Shellenberg on February 28, 2010 at 1:42 PM

Wow, the soft lighting of this image really shows off all of the subtle brown hues of this Lark, Mia. Congrats on getting this guy on an elevated perch with such a great pose. The colors of the environment really compliment the Lark well. Excellent detail. An all around super image.

Registered on February 6, 2008, 168 Posts, 3118 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on March 3, 2010 at 6:23 PM

A wonderfully presented Horned Lark Mia. The elevated perch is perfect for these guys, I like the soft lighting and mostly OOF background. The grass stems add a wonderful sense of envoronment. I also like the attentive pose and nice catch light. Very well done!

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments