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.
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.
Occasionally I like to do a “potpourri post” featuring some of the recent birds I’ve photographed that have fallen through the cracks of my blog.
One of the many things that makes bird photography both interesting and challenging is that there are no guarantees of success.
I often enjoy the little dramas in the lives of birds just as much as I do the bigger ones.
This is an eclectic group of images but maybe that’s part of the appeal for me. They give me a sense of the variety of my subjects even when my primary goal is birds.
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.
