Once in a great while I’m tempted to post a photo that kinda grabs me for some unexplainable reason but that I feel pretty confident won’t have much appeal for my readers. Nearly always I’m able to resist that temptation, but not today.
A few of the birds on Antelope Island are still in the late stages of nesting, including this Lark Sparrow and a female Bullock’s Oriole I saw at a distance feeding a recent fledgling.
Some folks might wonder why I would celebrate a Lark Sparrow but for me this classy looking (for a sparrow at least) songbird was a bit of a milestone.
Lark Sparrows returned to Antelope Island some time ago but until two days ago I haven’t been able to get any “clean” shots of them. I can partially blame the growth habits of sagebrush for that.
Yesterday on Antelope Island I got my first Lark Sparrow photos of the year but I paid the “no-see-um” price.
and one reason bird photographers need to be both quick and lucky. I’m only including this first image to help me make my point.
I often enjoy the little dramas in the lives of birds just as much as I do the bigger ones.
Lark Sparrows are a gift to the eye and ear. Their distinctive harlequin face pattern of black, white and chestnut combined with the melodious, rich trills of their lark-like song makes me long for the return of the species to Antelope Island every spring.
The bold harlequin face pattern and unique courtship behaviors of the Lark Sparrow make it among my favorite sparrows to observe and photograph.
Lark Sparrows are among my favorite songbirds to photograph, largely because of their boldly patterned face and head. Those dramatic chestnut, black and white markings make it one of the easier sparrows to identify and give it that harlequin look. This species has declined precipitously in the East but its populations seem secure in the rest of the continent where they’re naturally found.
Last week on Antelope Island this Lark Sparrow popped up onto a sagebrush very close to me with a large, juicy grasshopper. The bird seemed to be deliberately conspicuous about its prize and I briefly wondered why.
Many folks just don’t like unnatural perches. When it comes to nature photography they prefer that no sign of the “hand of man” be apparent in the image. To others the perch doesn’t matter much as long as the bird (subject) is presented in an appealing manner.
I guess I’m somewhere in the middle.
Back on May 25 of this year, on this post about Lark Sparrows, I made the following statement at the end of the post: “Now that I have some decent images of this species my next goal with them is to capture some of their unique behaviors. These birds often pass a twig from the male to the female during copulation (an impressive display of multitasking and concentration). And they do a turkey-like strut during courtship. I would love to capture either behavior.” In your comments, several of you gave me encouragement in meeting that goal and 11 days later I was at least partly able to do so. These are those images. A couple of these photos may be a little “clinical” for some, but to me it’s all behavior and it’s all interesting. Techs for all images were: 1/4000 or 1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc The courtship of Lark Sparrows includes behaviors found in no other songbirds. Prior to actual mating, the male struts like a turkey, with its tail sticking up to show off its white tail spots and its wings drooping to the ground. Then, before the male mounts her, he picks up a twig (or twigs) which he passes to the female just before copulation. When mating is complete (they may mate or attempt to mate up to 20 times in 3.5 minutes) the female often flies off with the twig. The courtship had already begun when I approached this mated pair. Normally, this species doesn’t allow me to get this close…
