{"id":13997,"date":"2014-01-29T06:46:06","date_gmt":"2014-01-29T13:46:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=13997"},"modified":"2026-01-08T10:32:54","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T16:32:54","slug":"a-horned-lark-and-a-broken-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/01\/29\/a-horned-lark-and-a-broken-heart\/","title":{"rendered":"Horned Lark And A Broken Heart"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"HornedHorned Lark and a broken heart – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1\/3200, ISO 500, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

I have dreamed about getting a shot like this since I first started photographing Horned Larks. I wanted a shot of a Horned Lark at the precise moment it began to lift off with the wings lifted. About two weeks ago I thought I got that image.<\/p>\n

But I didn’t.<\/p>\n

I had locked my focus onto the Horned Lark’s eye and just then, without warning, the pickup moved forward which also moved my point of focus from the bird’s face to it’s rump and that caused the face to be out of focus.<\/p>\n

Yep, a Horned Lark<\/span><\/a> and a broken heart. All I can do is hope I get another chance.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Horned Lark photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have dreamed about getting a shot like this since I first started photographing Horned Larks, I wanted a shot of a Horned Lark at the precise moment it began to lift off with the wings lifted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":166579,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[511,27,1022,510,436,26],"tags":[4004,9530,11978,4181,1023,1327,6433,2136,4050,373],"class_list":["post-13997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-frustrations-in-bird-photography","category-horned-larks","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-broken-heart","tag-desert-island","tag-eremophila-alpestris","tag-frustrations-in-bird-photography1","tag-horned-lark","tag-lark","tag-larks-2","tag-snow","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-broken-heart-mia-mcpherson-4496.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-3DL","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7636,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/02\/25\/horned-larks-in-box-elder-county\/","url_meta":{"origin":13997,"position":0},"title":"Horned Larks in Box Elder County","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 25, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I spotted a flock of Horned Larks in Box Elder County, some were foraging on the road and a few were perched on mounds of snow that someone had plowed. It seemed like the ones on the snow were just enjoying the sunshine.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Horned Lark on a snow bank in Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-male-snow-mia-mcpherson-8420.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-male-snow-mia-mcpherson-8420.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-male-snow-mia-mcpherson-8420.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-male-snow-mia-mcpherson-8420.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1887,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2011\/02\/14\/horned-larks\/","url_meta":{"origin":13997,"position":1},"title":"Horned Larks In Utah","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 14, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday was awesome for Horned Larks (Eremophila alpestris) in Tooele County, Utah.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Alert Horned Lark male perched on a rock in the West Desert, Tooele County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-alert-mia-mcpherson-3829.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-alert-mia-mcpherson-3829.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-alert-mia-mcpherson-3829.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-alert-mia-mcpherson-3829.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9682,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/10\/02\/autumn-horned-lark\/","url_meta":{"origin":13997,"position":2},"title":"Autumn Horned Lark","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 2, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Summer has changed to autumn and the behaviors of the Horned Larks that have been seen through the summer but have been difficult to get close to.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Horned Lark with an itch. Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/hordned-lark-scratching-mia-mcpherson-7927.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/hordned-lark-scratching-mia-mcpherson-7927.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/hordned-lark-scratching-mia-mcpherson-7927.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/hordned-lark-scratching-mia-mcpherson-7927.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7880,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/03\/17\/horned-lark-in-early-spring\/","url_meta":{"origin":13997,"position":3},"title":"Horned Lark In Early Spring","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 17, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I photographed this male Horned Lark just two days ago and I'm tickled that I can see new growth of grasses in the frame.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Horned Lark fluffing in early morning light, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-male-mia-mcpherson-1025.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-male-mia-mcpherson-1025.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-male-mia-mcpherson-1025.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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McPherson","date":"January 13, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Horned Larks and Western Meadowlarks are birds that I enjoy photographing all year long in Utah and yesterday they gave me some wonderful opportunities.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta), Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/western-meadowlark-mia-mcpherson-6550.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/western-meadowlark-mia-mcpherson-6550.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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